A shiny black car stopped in front of the gates of Seishun Academy, catching the attention of people.
"Whoa, a luxury car," a boy said, admiring the impressive vehicle.
"Did they invite a celebrity or something?" a girl murmured.
The chauffeur went out and opened the door of the backseat. However, the person who stepped out was not a celebrity. A guy dressed from head to toe in expensive branded clothes stood before them, looking from right to left with a bored look in his eyes.
Atobe Keigo undid the top button of his shirt and mumbled, "Why's it so hot here?" It really was an unusually hot day considering that autumn is just around the corner.
"Who's that handsome guy?" a lady whispered at her friend's ear.
Keigo merely brushed his hair off from his forehead with casual coolness and turned to his chauffeur. "You can go," he said.
The driver looked relatively confused. "But I thought I would be accompanying the young master."
"There's no need. I don't think I'll be long. I'll call you once I finish. You can pick me up on this spot later," Atobe told him and adjusted his collar.
"As you wish, obocchama," the chauffeur said and bowed. As he watched the young master enter the school, he raised his eyebrow curiously. It was the first time he ever saw the master go somewhere without friends or attendants to accompany him. He couldn't help but smile in amusement as he went back inside the car.
He had taken the young master to that school a few times before and he had heard that the young lady rumored to be the future daughter-in-law of the Atobe Corporation was studying there. The Master is said to be very fond of the young lady and would do whatever it takes to make her his daughter-in-law. Perhaps he should say a word about Keigo-obocchama's little trip to the master.
Atobe Keigo looked around the festival, scanning the busy crowd of people. "Now the question is..." he thought. "...how to find that girl."
He figured that the fastest way to locate her was to check out her class booth first and go from there but he just realized that he doesn't know which class she belongs to. He was about to call his father's personal secretary to ask when he suddenly saw the familiar pale green skirt standing a few yards away from him. The beautiful long black hair flowing down the girl's back couldn't have belonged to any other person. She looked sidewards and Atobe was able to confirm that she is indeed the person he is looking for.
With a smirk, he placed his phone back to his pocket and strutted towards her. He was distracted at the noise coming from the crowd ahead.
"3,500 yen!"
"4,000 yen!"
He raised his eyebrow. It looked like some kind of auction is taking place. He looked at the small stage in front of the crowd and snorted when he saw Fuji Syusuke standing there, dressed in a ridiculous outfit and looking as uncomfortable as hell.
"How interesting..." he said and smirked wider.
"4,500 yen!"
"10,000 yen!"
Atobe was startled to hear the familiar voice call out. He shifted his eyes back to the black-haired girl and saw her raising her hand.
Blinking in confusion, Atobe tried to assess the situation. Fuji Syusuke was being auctioned off and Fujioka Ryouko just... doubled the highest price and bid on him?
"Sold to the pretty babe in medieval clothing for 10,000 yen! Please go here in front to make your payment and claim the Romeo of Class 3-6, Mr. Fuji Syusuke! He's yours for a full three hours!" the hostess declared.
Hers for a full three hours? Meaning... she spent money to spend three hours with Fuji?
His purple eyes could only look bewilderedly as she made her way through the crowd with a confident stride. She took a wallet from deep within the pocket of her dress and counted some bills. After handing the money to the hostess, she looked at Fuji and smiled.
Atobe glared. Fuji, that brown-haired devil, smiled back at her with that slimy smile of his and offered his hand. She took it, placing her dainty white hand on his palm and let him lead her down the stage.
"How beautiful!" a girl beside him commented.
"Pretty girls get everything... Fuji-kun looked so nice with her, like a couple stepping off of a magazine," her friend added.
They felt a pressure from their right side and looked there. A tall handsome guy with a beauty mark under his right eye glared at them icily.
"Su-su-sumimasendeshita! (We're sorry!)" They chorused on impulse and scrammed without knowing what it is that they are sorry for.
Little did he know that only a few feet away from him, another one was scaring away people with his fiery glare and sharp outburst of temper.
Atobe watched Fuji and Ryouko steer away from the crowd and he decided to follow them. As he kept his purple pupils on their backs, dodging people along the way and keeping a safe distance, he couldn't help but wonder.
Since when did Fuji Syusuke and Fujioka Ryouko get so close? He barely saw them together during the camp. Could it be that something happened during those several days after camp ended? What could possibly happen in such a short amount of time to cause such an extraordinary turn of events?
Fujioka Ryouko is not the type of girl to open up warmly to just anyone, but as he watched her exchanging words with Fuji, smiling her half-smiles and various kinds of glints shining in her rust-colored eyes, he began to doubt that fact.
One thing is certain. Whatever it is, Atobe is sure to get to the bottom of it. No one, absolutely no one is allowed to receive Ryouko's fleeting smiles and look at her the way that Fuji Syusuke does now; except for him, that is. With his eyes narrowed, he continued following them when all of a sudden, Ryouko looked over her shoulder.
Atobe quickly stepped sidewards to hide behind a nearby stall.
"What is it?" Fuji asked.
"Nothing. I just felt some strange presence for a second," Ryouko replied.
"Shall we go to a place with lesser people?" Fuji told her.
"Sure," Ryouko answered.
Atobe breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close," he thought. "Why's she so sharp?"
He looked ahead of him and was met by a strange sight. He was looking eye to eye with Echizen Ryoma who was hiding by the side of the stall across from him. They looked at each other dumbly for a second before blinking in confusion.
"Why the heck are you here?" Ryoma finally said.
"I should say the same to you," Atobe replied.
"I study in this school, dumbass," Ryoma retorted.
"What're you acting so sneaky for, you midget?" Atobe snapped, ignoring the logic in Ryoma's answer.
"None of your damn business," is Ryoma's sharp riposte.
"You're not following Ryouko, are you? Sneaky little rat," Atobe said suspiciously with narrowed eyes.
"I think you're the one who's following her, you sneaky stupid monkey," Ryoma answered sarcastically.
Atobe was about to say an insult back to him when he suddenly remembered what Fuji said earlier.
Shall we go to a place with lesser people?
Lesser people...
Lesser people...
The words echoed in his head like some ominous death phrase. His eyes widening, he jumped out from behind the stall and scanned the crowd anxiously. He could no longer see a trace of the people he was tailing. Drats! They're gone!
Ryoma also did the same and was busily looking around, his neck swiveling from right to left.
"I lost them because of you!" Atobe exclaimed.
He might as well call out to the wind. Echizen Ryoma was also gone the moment he realized that Ryouko and Fuji were out of his sight.
Atobe let out a huff of exasperation and scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation. He straightened his collar and thought of what to do. He scanned the premises and saw a group of girls calling out for customers. They looked like they were the same age as Ryouko.
"Oi," he said as he approached them.
Two of the girls turned around. "Yes?" one of them asked.
"Do you know a freshman called Fujioka Ryouko? What class is she in?" he told them.
"Fujioka-san..." the other girl said and paused for thought. "She's in Class 1-2, isn't she?" she told her friend.
"Yeah, she is. The same class as Mami," her friend answered.
Atobe nodded in understanding and looked at the counter of the small stall. The girls were selling frozen bananas that can be coated in various dippings.
"Which one's the most expensive?" he asked them.
"Giant strawberry-choco-banana deluxe with sprinkles and mallows," the one who answered his previous question replied and pointed at the menu.
"I see that none in your class has decent naming sense," Atobe commented as he took out a 5,000-yen bill from his expensive-looking leather wallet. He placed the money on the counter. "Two of those deluxe things; you two eat them. Keep the change," he said continuously and disappeared to the crowd before the girls had any time to react.
"Onii-san, excuse—"
"5,000 yen?!"
"But the deluxe choco-bananas only cost 250 yen each..."
"And he bought them for us to eat?"
"To thank us for the information perhaps?"
"What a nice way to say thank you."
"Fujioka-san sure is acquainted with a rich one..."
"And he's tall and handsome too."
"Lucky her."
~~~
Meanwhile, Ryouko and Fuji were walking towards the school building using the back entrance which is isolated from the noise and excitement of the festival. The area is also sparsely decorated, only a few streamers here and there, making it seem like nothing special is going on and that it's only a normal school day.
While they roamed on the grounds, Ryouko teased Fuji relentlessly on how funny he looked onstage with the medieval outfit on and his face turning pink to purple as the bid goes higher. No one in his life had tormented him with words the way that she does. Since he had been failing miserably at defending himself, he chose to change the topic.
"I have to say, you really helped me out," Fuji said. "I didn't exactly approve of our class president's proposal to auction off the cast members of our play but we were outnumbered by our classmates."
Ryouko gave an amused laugh. "Your class president sounds smart at business. He knows what can make the crowd flock to your booth. It's a great idea."
"It's only a great idea if you're not involved as one of the auction products," Fuji pointed out. "But is it alright for you to spend so much money on the first day of the festival? I know you're rich but didn't you say you only receive the same amount of allowance as an ordinary junior high-schooler?"
Ryouko nodded. "Yeah and I don't pointlessly dip into my personal savings," she said.
"Then why did you bid so much?" Fuji asked, peering at her curiously.
"Who said I did that for free?" Ryouko answered simply. Fuji blinked as she turned to him.
Ryouko held out an open palm towards him and said, "That would be 5,000 yen. The highest bid was 4,500 yen, I'll dock off the 500 yen as a special discount since you're a senpai and all. As for the 4,500 yen, you should visit our class booth and spend the exact amount so we can increase our revenue," she enunciated, explaining the breakdown of the payment.
Fuji blinked again and assessed the situation. "You mean to say... You won the bid not to help me out but to make me pay for the amount you paid for me?" he said, sounding confused.
Ryouko nodded. "You really did look uncomfortable up there and I reckoned I have to do something for you but I can't really spend too much money. So I did what I did so you can be free. And so we can say that senpai paid for his own freedom."
"Then why did you raise the bid to such a ridiculous amount?" Fuji said, feeling as if he was duped.
Ryouko gasped. "Is Syusuke-senpai trying to say that he's not even worth 10,000 yen?" she said in a falsely shocked voice. She placed the forefinger of her free hand on her lower lip and tutted. "You should not have such low self-esteem, senpai. That's bad for one's emotional development."
"I think you are the one that's bad for my emotional development," Fuji said, quite exasperated.
He stared at Ryouko's open palm which she is still holding out. "You're really making me pay?" he said, hinting that she might just be playing a joke on him.
"Nope," Ryouko answered. "Pay up please or I'll be broke for the next three days. I get my allowance once a week every Fridays," she said.
"I doubt that you'll actually be broke. I just saw your thick wallet earlier, full of 2,000 yen bills," Fuji said as he took out the pocketbook he uses as a wallet.
Ryouko smiled. "I keep them there for my sanity. Using them is a whole different issue," she answered.
"How can you be so mean to a senpai?" he said bitterly as he handed her the only 5,000 yen bill in his pocketbook.
"It's tit for tat," Ryouko said, slipping the 5,000 yen bill inside a coin purse. She dropped the coin purse inside her dress pocket and smiled. "Look on the bright side. You don't have to spend three hours with some random gal, obligated to entertain her. And the sales of your class booth just went up by 10,000 yen. Ain't that a pretty hefty price. Your class might have a shot at receiving the reward for most sales."
"So you just bid to help me buy myself out. You didn't bid because you want to spend three hours in my company?" Fuji said, confirming his suspicion.
"Why would I pay money just to spend three hours with an individual I see regularly?" Ryouko answered quite insensitively. "Senpai's time is his. You can spend your three hours however you want. Isn't freedom a jolly thing?" she said and smiled.
Fuji just answered with a stone-face, far from amused. "I still have to be auctioned again this afternoon, twice tomorrow in the morning and afternoon then for the next three days after that."
"Oh," Ryouko said, her tone indicating that she had no idea it worked that way. She gave a wince. "Tough life you've got there, Romeo," she commented in sympathy and gave him a playful jab in the ribs.
Fuji looked more annoyed and Ryouko figured that she's taking it too far. It is her fault spending such a high amount on the bidding price. She only figured that no one else would try bidding over her if she doubled the price.
She saw her uncles do that during auction events thus it was an impulsive action from learning from them. She doesn't like spending money thoughtlessly and Fuji might also be of the same type yet she made him spend so much. She figured she wronged him.
In Fuji's opinion, she did wrong him but it was of a different type of wrongfulness from what Ryouko is thinking of. Meanwhile, the clueless little sinner is thinking of a way to make it up to him.
Ryouko hooked an arm over the bend of Fuji's elbow like a little sister would to an older brother. "Don't be upset, senpai. Why don't we go to our café? I'll treat you to a cup of milk tea," she said and started leading him to the school building.
Fuji was surprised at her sudden intimate gesture but figured that it must be what she does when she upsets one of her older cousins. The girl's quite experienced at dealing with annoyed boys.
"Trying to make up for it with a cup of coffee isn't enough. You're making me spend 9,500 yen against my own volition," he remarked as she dragged him to the stairs.
"Then I'll treat you to two cups of milk tea," Ryouko answered. "I can't afford using the café's products to my own will. Our class all pitched in for the ingredients and we have to earn money for the competition."
"Have people ever told you that you're petty?" Fuji asked, a bit of sarcasm evident in his voice.
"Yes. All the time," she replied and encouragingly pushed him up the stairs.
~~~
Ryoma was unable to find Ryouko and Fuji so he just returned to their classroom with a sour mood. He still have about forty-five minutes left in his breaktime but he's not in a good humor to be interested in looking around the stalls on the grounds.
He wished to play tennis to calm his nerves but remembered that the clubroom was locked up and he didn't bring his personal racket; they were forbidden to bring anything unrelated to the festival until the end of the week. Besides, he couldn't afford getting the Robin Hood costume all sweaty although it is sort of already sweaty from running around the grounds for the whole morning.
"Echizen, aren't you still on break?" a classmate on reception duty greeted him as he approached the back entrance.
"Nothing interests me," he replied. He peered at the long queue in front of the reception table. It looks like their class booth is doing well.
As he was roaming around, he heard people talking about their café. The service and the food were praised but what really made the people line up for them is the setting. The room looked as if one just stepped into a fancy English tea party.
Of course the place would look good. The furniture, draping, curtains, tableclothes, even the tea sets and cutleries were authentic as it came directly from the Fujioka mansion. Ryouko personally checked on the interior design, making sure it is as English as it can possibly be. They allowed the customers to take selfies inside the room and it was what most of the girls wanted to get. Only paying customers were allowed to take pictures with the class members as well.
Ryoma figured that the excitement would die down after a day or two. People's attention is hard to hold onto. Ayase and Aoki should think of another way to attract guests once they stop having queues. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted with a single statement from his classmate.
"Funny. Ryouko-san just returned also and she said she'd rather work than look around the festival," his classmate commented as he handed a number and a time card to a couple of customers. "We are honored for your visit, my Lord, my Lady," he told the couple with a smile. The next table will be available after twenty minutes. Feel free to check out the other booths as we prepare for your arrival."
Ryoma blinked and peeked inside the room. Indeed, Ryouko is back and is currently serving as a waitress. "How long has she been in there?" he asked.
"I dunno. Maybe ten minutes ago?"
Ryoma sighed. All that running around and she's actually back at base? But what about those three hours she won in the bid? "Isn't she supposed to spend time with Fuji-senpai since she went to the trouble of winning the bid over him?" he thought.
He entered the classroom and casually strolled to the counter. "You're back, Echizen-kun? Are the stalls on the grounds really that lame?" Aoki Kurumi asked.
Ryoma merely shrugged. "I'll go to work. The next ones can have their break early if they want." He looked at Ryouko who kept her Marian act natural while conversing with a customer. He still wondered why she came back.
Well, isn't it fine? At least she's not with Fuji-senpai or anyone else. He wondered where the Monkey King had gone. Stupid as he is, there might be a good chance that neither he nor Ryouko would see him for the day.
"We can't have that," Kurumi sighed, answering Ryoma's suggestion. "It's nice that you're sacrificing your breaktime to help out and we're glad of the extra help but it'll totally mess up the schedule we made," she added. "Really. What is up with both you and Ryouko-san?"
"I know right? I also want to know," Ryoma said as he took off the quiver from his back, returning them to the props area.
He took a menu and is about to tend to his duties when his eyes caught a familiar figure sitting behind one table near the window.
Ryouko went over to him, holding a silver platter with a tea set sitting upon it. "Here's your second cup of tea. Are you still upset with me, my Lord?" she said as she daintily placed a Worcester cup and saucer in front of Fuji. She gave the teapot a slight tip, letting the amber-colored liquid pour out steadily; then she placed the tea pot back to the silver platter, took a smaller pot and poured milk on the tea.
"So..." Ryoma thought, narrowing his eyes at them. "She brought him here instead. No wonder I couldn't see them anywhere." Clenching his teeth, he went to tend to the table next to them.
"Is this special treatment a way of saying sorry? If it is, I still don't forgive you," Fuji answered before lifting the cup to his lips.
Ryouko pouted a bit. "I told you I can't treat you to anything more than two cups of milk tea. Besides, you needn't pressure yourself to spending 4,500 yen on just a single purchase. You can pay for it little by little until the end of the week," she told him, remembering to be a graceful Marian even as a debtor. "Are you sure you don't want to order anything, my Lord? Our scones are quite heavenly," she added, changing the subject.
Fuji narrowed his blue eyes at her, feigning disfavor. "Encouraging me to order scones after saying that I don't need to pressure myself paying off the 4,500 yen right now isn't very consistent, don't you think? The scones cost 150 yen for two pieces. Isn't it enough that you already wheedled 5,000 yen out of me earlier?"
"Okay, okay. No more recommendations or suggestions of any shape or form," Ryouko said in surrender, falling out of Marian's character for a moment. "I'll leave you and your cup of tea together and may you enjoy each other's presence."
When she turned around, she was shocked to be face to face with none other than Robin Hood. They stood in silence for a second before Ryoma placed the menu on the bend of his elbow and made an elegant bow to Ryouko.
"How nice it is to see the fair Maiden Marian absorbed in her work," he greeted and looked up, fixing her with his gold-bronze pupils. There was a malicious glint on them that sent a quiver down Ryouko's spine. "A little too absorbed perhaps," he added, emphasizing each word. Ryouko heard a bit of hostility in his tone.
Immediately, Ryouko avoided his gaze. She blinked uncomfortably and felt uneasy with the glint on Ryoma's eyes as if he caught her red-handed doing something illegal. Why the heck would she feel that?
Immediately, the encounter created a small fuss within the room. "Robin Hood and Marian are both here! Hey, can we take a picture?" one of the customers asked.
Ryoma stood straight from the bow and gave a solemn smile. "Why of course. We would be honored," he answered. He turned to Ryouko and swept his hand for her to go first.
"Thank you," Ryouko said and smiled though she was a bit taken aback by Ryoma's play acting.
"He's smooth. He suits the role. Maybe we really have to switch?" Ryouko thought as she surveyed Ryoma's calm and princely demeanor. He's playing Robin in a different way from how she does, though she figures she plays Robert with the same solemn and gilded style.
"Nah, my Robin is far more satisfactory. Besides, I doubt that he can display Robin and Robert differently. It's much too complicated for a simpleton like him," she told herself. Her random thinking was disrupted when Ryoma did a startling thing. He slipped his right hand to the right side of her waist and pulled her close.
Impulsively, she turned her head sidewards at him with a wide-eyed surprised look. "They're taking pictures my Lady. I suggest you focus," Ryoma told her with a gentlemanly smile and pulling her closer that her left forearm is stuck at his right side.
Some girls squealed at the fanservice brought by the two main leads. "So cute! Let me take a picture! Look here please!"
What was supposed to be only a few seconds of picture-taking turned into a full-blown pictorial. Every guest in the room is taking photos with their phone cameras with the exception of Fuji.
Fuji looked a bit displeased as he stared at Ryoma and Ryouko posing for the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Ryoma had shifted his attention to Fuji and they surprisingly met each other's gaze.
At that moment, Ryoma suddenly raised his right arm and draped it over Ryouko's shoulders, his palm resting on her right shoulder; very exactly like what Fuji did to purposely annoy him on that day when Ryoma refused to go out of hiding from the boy's toilet.
Looking straight at Fuji, Ryoma smirked.
A vein in Fuji's temple pulsed in irritation. They say to be fed a taste of one's own medicine is bitter but it is the first time that Fuji experienced something for the saying to be proved true. Indeed it is bitter; and even more so because Echizen Ryoma also did that on purpose. Clearly, he did get annoyed at Fuji's little prank before and held a childish grudge over it.
The nine regulars of Seigaku got along well enough. But among their group, Fuji was not that well-acquainted with Ryoma. The cocky freshman was friendlier with Momoshiro and Kikumaru but it was probably because those two approached Ryoma the most. Tezuka is close with Ryoma in a whole different way compared to the previous two. Inui, Kaidoh, Kawamura and Oishi are very simple people and they fairly get along well with everyone though Kaidoh is more of a rougher edge compared to the other three.
He, Fuji Syusuke, is not so simple. Sometimes he even classifies himself as 'shrewd'. Even he cannot understand what kind of person he is at times.
Fuji thought Ryoma a good kid though he can be painfully arrogant at times. Fuji didn't dislike that. Echizen Ryoma had the right to be arrogant even though he's young because he possessed enough skills to do so. If someone asks Fuji whether he is fond of Echizen Ryoma, he might have to ponder over it for a few days to get an answer.
However, if such a question would be posed before him at that moment, he can give an answer right away. No. He is not fond of Echizen Ryoma, that childish arrogant little prince who plants grudges and capable of upsetting Fujioka Ryouko the most.
The aforementioned female is in the middle of staring suspiciously at the hand on her shoulder. It gives her the shivers why Ryoma is acting all touchy at the spur of the moment. They didn't break off that morning in good humor and when she made up her mind to find him on the grounds, she was anticipating a cold shoulder from him.
Meanwhile, Ryoma felt that something's a bit off. He looked down at Ryouko and saw her keeping an eye at his hand on her shoulder. Trying out an experiment, he gave her shoulder a light squeeze. At that subtle touch, Ryouko's back jumped in fright. Ryoma could feel how tense she is by the way the muscle on the ball of her shoulder is all taut.
He rolled his eyes. What a funny reaction. She seemed more than comfortable when it was Fuji-senpai who's got his arm over her. Does she have to make the difference so obvious?
Ticked off, he hissed at her through his fake smile. "Marian wouldn't be so stiff like a pole when standing next to Robin, don't you think?"
Ryouko blinked and gave his face a side glance.
"Why don't you loosen up, for goodness' sake. I'm only doing this for the class booth so don't get any ideas and do your job properly," Ryoma added.
Ryouko internally scoffed. "So he's acting. Taking this a little too seriously ei? He's such a sore loser. Fine! I won't lose either," she thought and pushed down the slight disappointment she felt when he confirmed why he's acting different.
Beaming a radiant smile at the audience, she raised her right arm subtly towards her right shoulder and held onto Ryoma's hand resting there. She also tilted her head to her left so that her ear and the side of her face rested on Ryoma's neck. They were considerably close now without even a millimeter of distance between them and Ryoma was regretting speaking out and making her all riled up.
He inched to the side to put a few inches between them and craned his neck but Ryouko caught him by grabbing him at the back, specifically onto the fabric of his costume with her left hand and pulling him back to position. "Where do you think you're going?" Ryouko whispered at him viciously, smiling with her eyes at the audience. "We're just getting started. Do your job properly," she hissed through her perfect smile, throwing his statement back at his face.
Ryoma wished he could break away from her and wring her neck but as he is obviously inhibited, he contented himself with strangling her in his thoughts. Why is it that she's almost always successful at making him feel uncomfortable?
"Back hug! Do a back hug!"
Ryoma is in the verge of breakdown when he heard that. They are definitely not gonna make him hug Ryouko from behind and have them spectators taking a hundred photos of it.
"Okay, okay, that's enough fan service for one day," Kurumi said, approaching them all the way from the counter.
There were groans from the crowd as they dissipated and returned to their tables.
"Please make sure not to use those photos for anything shady and if you plan on posting them on the internet, please tag the post with the keywords provided by our student council. Thank you very much," Kurumi announced.
When Ryouko finally stepped away from him, Ryoma could finally breathe in peace. He gratefully took his arm from her shoulders and gladly distanced himself. Never again would he try this trick on her. It would only be his loss since the chick's too used to skinship with people of the opposite gender while he isn't. His own mother doesn't even kiss and hug him after he turned seven years old. He told her he's too old for his mother to still kiss and hug him. Rinko was heart-broken but nevertheless honored her little son's request. Besides, she's too busy with work that they only ever meet twice or thrice a week. Nanjiro could have had the most chances to cuddle with his son but the ex-pro tennis player isn't much of a cuddler. Since his birth, Ryoma is blessed with an independent, quiet and cold personality and his lack of familial skinship might have just made him even colder and hard to approach. Ryoma didn't care less. Like his father, he's also not much of a cuddler.
Ryoma thought it over and realized that perhaps the only female he's had the most skinship with is none other than that brat Ryouko herself. Yet he's finding it hard to breathe normally when she gets too close. He wondered what's gotten into him. Is it because they're not on good terms? Is it an allergy reaction of some sort? A psychological allergy maybe?
Ryoma nodded. That must be it. There's no other plausible reason.
"What the heck are you nodding like that for? Stop it, it's creepy," Ryouko told him in a low tone when she passed by him.
"You're creepier," Ryoma retorted, positively pissed off. Yes, he's definitely allergic! He's too angry with her that even his body is showing rejection.
As the minutes ticked by, Class 1-2 is becoming quite rhythmic with their work. The service is flowing smoothly and Ryouko is becoming busy with entertaining customers.
Fuji stared at the empty cup on his hand. Perhaps it's time for him to duck out. He waited until Ryouko passed by his table and calculated his timing to tug on her sleeve. "I should go ahead," Fuji told her. "You can make your customer use this table. It's wasted on me since I'm just sitting here and not even ordering."
Ryouko looked thoughtfully at him. "Do you want me to order you a dessert? I'll pay for it. I'll feel bad if you just leave like this, senpai," she said, hugging the menu to her chest.
Fuji smiled. "It's okay. You lost 4,500 yen because you helped me and you're not getting it back until the end of the week. You've done enough for me today," he answered. "Oh and there's something missing in your sentence," he abruptly added.
Ryouko looked up in thought and stifled a laugh from the back of her throat. "If it's really okay then I'll let you go this time, Syusu-ke-sen-pai," she said, playfully dividing the syllables of his name the way Fuji pronounced it the first time.
The two of them shared a silent laugh at the secret humor that only they can understand. Ryoma made a face as he threw them a passing glance.
"I told you they're on the first name basis," a couple of their classmates began gossiping with each other.
"So nice... I also wanna be that close to a good-looking senpai. Boys our age are so silly. It's no wonder my sister's boyfriend is older than her by two years. They seem mature and sweet and understanding. Fuji-senpai is a good example."
"I know right? And with that face and that smile, he's practically perfect!"
Suddenly, they caught Ryoma giving them a dirty look. "Get to work," he told them, his words firm.
"Yes sir," the two girls chorused, shocked out of their wits at Ryoma's demeanor. They had never seen him make any more facial expressions other than his usual uninterested ones and the few rare ones when he's in a good mood. Since he and Ryouko-san quarreled, they had never seen him display his good mood face even once. They only hoped that he's only acting when he gave them the evil eye.
Ryoma was quite perplexed to hear people gossiping and assuming things about Ryouko and Fuji's relationship. What's so special about calling each other by the first name? And what was that nonsense about older boys being mature and understanding?
His mind unconsciously began busy trying to find loopholes in Fuji Syusuke's personality. Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with a definite blemish. He doesn't know him enough to pinpoint his flaws. Among the seniors in Seigaku, he is perhaps the person that Ryoma knew the least about.
One thing is sure enough, he is certainly not fond of Fuji Syusuke.
"Didn't he say he's gonna leave? What's taking him so long?" Ryoma thought in annoyance as Ryouko and Fuji stood near the door. As a matter of fact, only a bare thirty seconds had passed since Fuji announced that he's leaving. It just seemed longer to Ryoma because of his personal prejudice over the brown-haired Romeo.
When Ryouko was about to see Fuji to the door, a commotion outside piqued their attention.
"Sorry my Lord but you have to get in line to get a time card and a number. There are other customers who are scheduled for the next available table—" the poor guy in reception duty seemed to be in a pickle handling a persistent guest.
"If you tell me your fixed revenue for the day, I can double the amount easy-peasy. There's no need catering to so many people for such measly amounts. I only have to enter for a few minutes to meet someone. So get me a table right now."
Ryouko scrunched up her eyebrows together, making creases on her smooth forehead. The voice couldn't have been more familiar. After all, she was stuck listening to that annoying voice for a whole week during camp.
"But that's... rude to the other ladies and gentlemen who lined up for—" the poor boy's reasoning is shut off as Atobe Keigo looked over his shoulder at the girls lining up on queue.
"Say, is it alright for me to go first?" he asked or more like declared. His question didn't sound like a request at all but rather an absolute order that no one should dare to refuse.
But when the girls craned their necks to look at the face of the tall and rude line-breaker, they swooned silently. Lean stature, captivating purple eyes, a sculpted face, a beauty mark under one eye and a good sense of fashion, the girls were fallen prey to his masculine charm.
"Yes, you can go ahead," the group of girls behind him said.
"We also don't mind," came the call from the end of the queue.
"Hey, why are you giving in so—" a guy who accompanied his girlfriend on the line started to complain but he was cut short by none other than his own female companion.
"It's okay, it's just one spot. Let him take it," his girlfriend snapped and looked admiringly at the rule-breaker. "Go ahead, Mister," she told Atobe.
The corner of Atobe Keigo's mouth turned up in a smirk. "Thanks," he said, casually throwing out the word with zero sincerity.
"You're very welcome," the girls chorused including the one with her boyfriend beside her. Seeing his girlfriend favor a stranger albeit one who does look like he stepped off of a modeling ad, the boyfriend looked very sour indeed.
"But those with time cards go first," the boy in reception duty said. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ryouko by the side of the door.
"It's okay Nakanishi-kun," Ryouko said. "There's no reasoning with monkeys. They can't understand human language," she added, her rust-colored pupils shooting out a hostile glare directed at Atobe.
"Is that something to say to a fiancé candidate, ei, Little Miss Fujioka Heiress?" Atobe greeted and brushed aside her, entering the room as if he owned the place.
He saw Fuji standing next to the door and stopped short. Remembering the earlier incident with the auction and everything, he narrowed his purple eyes at him. Fuji equaled his unfriendly gaze with a somber one of his own.
Atobe's eyes roamed the room and he claimed the first empty table he saw. It was the one that Fuji just vacated.
Ryouko went inside the room after bringing back the order outside. She sighed at the sight of Atobe Keigo making himself at home behind the small tea table. "What is this troublemaker doing here?" she thought in exasperation as she dragged her feet towards his table to confront him.
Surprisingly, one of the waiters already beat her to the task. Echizen Ryoma brought down the menu in front of Atobe with more force than necessary. "Greetings, my Lord. My name is Robin and I will be your assistant for today." he said, flawlessly enunciating the spiel. "May I take your order, my good sir?" he added, his eyes flashing dangerously upon looking at the unwanted guest.
Ryouko was genuinely shocked seeing Ryoma provide service to Atobe Keigo willingly. She thought he hates him. She blinked and rubbed her eyes to make sure that it was indeed Ryoma that she's looking at during that moment. Indeed it is Ryoma, still resplendent in the Robin Hood costume that actually looked a little too good on him.
Maybe it's because he's acting that he could push aside personal biases and place his work as main priority? He's taking this act quite too seriously, perhaps a little bit too seriously. He's doing too many uncharacteristic things for him to be the Ryoma that she know.
She let out a little gasp as a thought entered her mind. "Could it be possible that there's no Ryoma here at the moment and the person standing there is the Robin Hood in Mami's script? He fell so deeply into the role that he's gotten half insane?" Ryouko asked herself. There seem to be no end to the surprises that Ryoma plan on showing her for the day.
Another surprising thing happened when Fuji Syusuke suddenly took the chair opposite Atobe. "Excuse me, but this is my table earlier. I was about to leave but I changed my mind. Of course I wouldn't mind sharing this table with you," he said, mustering his usual smile. "You also don't mind, do you?"
Atobe's facial expression openly states that he does mind but Ryoma had opened his mouth before he did. "It is a great thing seeing camaraderie between good gentlemen," he commented and placed another menu in front of Fuji.
"Camaraderie my foot," Atobe commented aloud and is on the verge of starting a verbal complaint.
"A couple of scones for me and a cup of Oolong tea," Fuji said, casually making an order so Atobe won't be able to speak a word.
Ryoma jotted down the order and turned to Atobe. "And for you, my Lord?"
"Get Ryouko over here. I want her to take my order," Atobe answered.
"The same as your companion; I hear your order nice and clear," Ryoma said and scribbled on his notepad for the second time. "Please wait a moment as we work on your tea and snacks." He turned around as Atobe stared at him in exasperation.
On his way to the counter, Ryoma had taken an extra turn towards Ryouko and whispered near her ear, "Get your ass out of here. I'll take care of the Monkey King."
She glanced towards the table where Atobe and Fuji were seated. Atobe caught her looking and motioned a 'Come over here' gesture with one hand. Fuji gave her a solemn shaking of the head indicating that she does not have to go there.
Ryouko tilted her head to one side. Is she just thinking too much or does it seem as if both Ryoma and Fuji-senpai are in cahoots on not letting her come near Atobe?
Hiya guys! Tuesday ended up being Wednesday thanks to me ol' poor self getting caught in the rain earlier and getting stranded at work for an hour. So I had to finalize this at the last minute and I hope I did alright though my head feels like it's full of air.
Oh and I am very heartbroken as I had to cut out dear Captain Tezuka from the above picture because I can't seem to locate an image with only these three in it. Men-go, men-go, Buchou! Author-chan doesn't mean any harm! Honest!
Well anyways... Here's your chappy! I hope you guys enjoyed it!
I am pleased to say that I would be able to update more often thanks to the improvements in my work environment! Please continue supporting Tennis no Oujo-sama! Muah! Love you all!