The night is peaceful inside the residence of the Echizen Family. Nanjiro is laying around as usual while his wife gets dinner ready. Rinko was not supposed to be home for a week but as the case she was working on was wrapped up earlier than she thought; she went home to her two boys. Meino Nanako, Ryoma's only cousin is spending the night for a college excursion that is taking place near their town. She set up the table diligently while passing Rinko plates and bowls every now and then. The only child of the house is upstairs and he hadn't been down since he came home from school two hours ago.
"Ara," Nanako said thoughtfully, staring at the stairs leading to the second floor of the house. "Ryoma-san is taking quite a long time up there. Should I call on him since dinner is almost ready," she added.
"Don't bother," Nanjiro remarked, jotting down answers on a cross-word puzzle on the newspaper. "The chap's probably still in the bath. He'll crawl down once he's done."
Nanako gave a small laugh of amusement. "Ryoma-san really likes taking long baths huh?"
"He does; ever since he's little," Rinko answered, draining the oil from the tempura she was frying. "And it doesn't help if you give him onsen bath salts for a souvenir. He must be trying out the pack that I gave him earlier."
"I don't know if that bloke's really my son or the offspring of a merman," Nanjiro commented, rolling his eyes.
"Ara," Rinko said, setting down the plate of golden-brown tempura on the center of the table. "It was rather convenient for me to cheat on you the year before Ryoma was conceived. You were so busy with your career back then. We also lived near the ocean so finding a merman to cheat with isn't that much of a challenge. It was romantic, like a reversed version of the Little Mermaid."
Nanjiro flipped his newspaper over and glared at his wife. "Rinko-chan, if you're gonna make a joke, why don't you make a more believable story? And have you ever heard of a merman who swims in warm water?"
Nanako laughed at the way his Aunt and Uncle bickered. She is also an only child like Ryoma and Rinko is the only sibling of her mother. She looked up to this couple as her second mother and father and really liked to think of Ryoma as her own little brother. The Echizen Residence is rather lively when all four of them are present.
"Mreow," came a soft mew from her foot. She looked down on Karupin who is swishing his tail side by side and placing a paw on Nanako's big toe. He seemed to sense what Nanako is thinking and looked upset that he was being left out of her thoughts.
She bent down and gave its head a pet. "Five. Rather lively with five, don't you think Karupin-chan?" she corrected herself and smiled. Karupin purred in satisfaction, letting itself be petted.
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom of the second floor of the house, a head of black hair floated on the surface of the glimmering bath water, ripples blossoming from underneath for a few seconds before Echizen Ryoma burst out, splashing water everywhere. He coughed and gasped for air before shaking his head vigorously like a puppy shaking off water from its body.
He breathed in and out for a moment before slinging a hand over the edge of the bathtub. "I thought I was gonna die," he gasped.
Death by drowning from falling asleep while taking a bath, what a ridiculous thing to be written on one's death certificate. After catching his breath, he wondered how long he had been in the tub. Lifting one hand, he checked his fingers. They looked more wrinkled than the skin of bitter gourd that Fujioka Ryouko loathed.
Ryoma mentally slapped himself for that thought. Why, just why is it that even looking at his wrinkled fingers makes him think of something related to Fujioka Ryouko? Hasn't he been pissed off enough with thoughts of her for the whole day?
Grumbling, he got out of the bathtub and started drying off. In about ten minutes, he was climbing down the stairs towards the living room, a cotton towel slung casually over one shoulder. He lifted an end of it occasionally and rubbed his wet hair with the fabric.
"Had enough water Mr. Mer-prince?" Nanjiro said upon seeing his son.
"More than enough to drown myself into," Ryoma answered his father's sarcastic question with a rather truthful statement. He left out the sarcasm since he did almost drown in the tub.
"The two of you stop trying to one-up each other and get over here. Dinner's ready," Rinko ordered, her tone sharp. Father and son dragged their feet towards the dinner table obediently.
Karupin ate his dinner by the side of Ryoma's chair and his humans have also started eating peacefully.
"I heard that Seishun Academy's cultural fest just started today. Your school must be quite famous all over the city for me to overhear some store owners talking about it," Nanako commented.
Ryoma chewed on the end of a tempura and nodded. "Seishun's the biggest school around here so yeah," he answered simply.
"What is your class doing for the festival?" Rinko asked eagerly. Her son rarely ever talks about his activities in school and she felt rather detached to him in that area. She's too busy at work to supervise him at home and is feeling that she's rather an irresponsible mother for putting her work before him. He is such a mature child that he never makes any situation for his parents to worry. Rinko doesn't know if she's relieved or saddened by that fact. Sometimes, she wants to see her son acting like a normal teenager and not a twenty-year-old young man trapped inside a twelve-year-old's body.
"Café," Ryoma answered. He lifted his eyes and saw that his three elders are looking rather pissed at his short reply.
"An English-styled Cosplay Café," he elaborated, trying to pacify them. "We're cosplaying characters from the Robin Hood play that we'll be performing on Saturday," he told them rather impulsively.
Suddenly, he began immersing himself with his dinner. He has said a word to many and cursed himself silently. Why did he have to mention the Robin Hood play? Ryouko mentioned it to his old man on the day she visited their house.
Ryoma took a tentative look at his father. Nanjiro just nodded solemnly and crammed two pieces of tempura in his mouth. Good. His father's too dumb to still remember what Ryouko said.
"That sounds wonderful!" Nanako commented, clapping her hands together. "I sure hope the professors will give us extra time before going back to campus. I can invite some friends over and take a look at your class booth."
Rinko reached out an open palm towards her son all of a sudden. Ryoma looked at it questioningly then shifted his eyes at his mother.
"Do you need me to pass you something, Kaa-san?" he asked.
Rinko looked rather cross. "Pictures!" she said, sounding like a child demanding for candy. "You said you cosplayed. You must've taken pictures."
"Right now?" Ryoma said in complaint. "We're having dinner," he added matter-of-factly, sounding more like the adult in the table.
"None of your fussing. Let me see a photo of my son in his costume," Rinko replied.
"I don't have any," Ryoma lied through his teeth.
"Then contact one of your classmates who have one and ask him to send the picture to your messages," Rinko pointed out with an if-there's-a-will-there's-a-way kind of tone.
Ryoma sighed and abandoned the table to fetch his phone. He didn't have to contact anyone to get a photo of him in the Robin Hood costume.
Before working in the class booth, each of the waiters and waitresses had to surrender their mobile phones to Aoki Kurumi in the counter and it seemed like while he was busy working, Aoki snuck his phone out and took countless pictures of him, almost filling up his memory card. He never bothered to place security locks in his phone because he doesn't really care if people try and go through it but now he saw why it was necessary. Some people just have the habit of invading other's privacy.
He was thinking of deleting the pictures before going to sleep but who knew that his mother would demand to see a photo of him in the festival before he got to work on it. He hasn't seen most of the pictures and goodness knows what kinds of things are captured in them.
When he retrieved his phone, he browsed through his gallery and saw that most of the photos have Ryouko in them as well. Whether their class president did that on purpose or it's only a coincidence, who knows? Before he was able to retrieve his phone from her, Aoki was showing Ayase his phone and they giggled over it. It was only after he was home that he realized what they were giggling about.
He figured that it was Ayase Mami who made Aoki Kurumi behave in such an uncharacteristic way that she even smuggled out Ryoma's phone and took pictures with it secretly. That wacko that Ryouko got for a girlfriend is quite messed up in many ways. Just remembering what happened during the second half of the day was enough to make him want to heave long sighs of exasperation. He was so tired that the moment he went home, he went straight to take his bath, barely acknowledging his mother and cousin. It was also the first time that he fell asleep in the bathtub which shows just how exhausted he is from the activities of the day.
It took him a while to find a single shot of himself showcasing the highlights of the costume he was wearing. He selected it, moving the photo to an empty album, a strategy to prevent his mother and Nanako-san from browsing through the whole photo gallery.
He went down and showed the screen to the two women who gaped at the phone excitedly. "There. Satisfied?" he said.
The two women squealed in unison and Rinko snatched the phone from Ryoma's hand.
Despite of himself, Nanjiro craned his neck to have a look at the screen. In the photo, Ryoma was standing relaxedly with his body turned to the side to show the bow and quiver of arrows on his back. One hand is inside his pocket and the other is absent-mindedly adjusting the triangular cap on his head, making him look very casual and lazy. He had the expression of boredom in his eyes, looking as if it's too troublesome to pose for the camera, making him exude a sluggish charm that's hard to resist.
"Cheh. Not bad," Nanjiro murmured, a bit displeased that his son looked more handsome than he did in his youth.
"My son is looking too fine in here! You look like a real-life Robin Hood my dear!" Rinko told him, her voice filled with pride and affection.
"You're so cool and handsome in this costume Ryoma-san," Nanako added, her eyes shining.
"I'm handsome no matter what I wear," Ryoma mumbled under his breath. His father heard him and snorted rather offensively.
Ignoring his father, Ryoma attempted to take his phone back. "That's enough, isn't it Mom? I got no more to show you so please give my phone back."
Rinko zoomed onto Ryoma's face in the photo and took in the details of the outfit. "You must send this to me. I'll show it to my colleagues next week."
"I'd also like a copy," Nanako followed.
"Okay, okay, I'll send it to you guys later. Please just give my phone back," Ryoma replied impatiently, brandishing his open palm to their faces.
But before his mother reached out to hand the phone to him, Nanako took hold of it saying, "Are you sure you don't have more? My friends and I used to take tons of photos during school events." She navigated away from the album and started browsing through the main gallery.
Ryoma's jaw dropped. Standing up from his seat and reaching over the dinner dishes, he made a wild snatch at the phone. He couldn't get to it for Nanako had raised it out of his reach, her black eyes shining.
"Ara, there's so many pictures here. That's not nice, Ryoma-san, lying to us that you don't have any," she said.
"There's more?" Rinko said in surprise and stood up from her seat to stand behind her niece. After seeing the truckload of photos, she threw a small glare at her son. "Since when did you learn how to lie so smoothly, Ryoma Echizen?"
Ryoma shifted uneasily in his chair. His mother rarely calls him by the full name and when she does, it means that she's really pissed off.
Rinko's icy gaze shifted towards the person next to Ryoma, quietly finishing what remained of his dinner. "Like father, like son," she suddenly mumbled.
"Oi, oi, don't drag me into that flapdoodle. You settle it with just you three. I ain't interested in no pictures," Nanjiro commented with an air of nonchalance before drinking his bean sprout soup directly from the bowl. "Gochisomadeshita," he said and vacated his chair.
"I'm going upstairs to take a nap. I'll wash the dishes later," he said and yawned, slipping a hand though his loose robe and scratching his stomach.
"Sleeping right after eating... He's the epitome of laziness," Rinko said with a flat tone as she watched her husband make his ay upstairs.
"Yet you married that epitome of laziness," Ryoma pointed out.
Rinko sighed. "I wonder what I was thinking when I married him... I must have been blind," she said.
"People say that love is blind. It must've been that way for Mom and Oyaji," Ryoma commented and picked up three pieces of tempura. He was about to leave his chair and casually vacate the table when his mother hissed at him.
"Stop trying to take advantage of the situation and change topics, young man. Get back to your chair and finish dinner properly before explaining why you told such a lie," Rinko snapped.
Unable to defy his mother, Ryoma slumped back in his chair and dropped the three pieces of tempura to his plate. He picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating, peering anxiously at Rinko and Nanako who are beginning to browse through the pictures one by one. He wanted to get away so that they'd have no chance of questioning him about the photos but unfortunately, he failed at the attempt. His mother is always so sharp at noticing what he was trying to do.
"The café looks so classy! It must've taken a while to decorate the interior," Nanako remarked as she browsed one photo after another. "The costumes of your classmates are also really nice and elaborate. I don't think your preparations came out cheap. How much did you pool into these?"
Ryoma sighed internally. There it is; the question and answer portion... They would be pissed off if he doesn't give out answers.
"We didn't spend much," he replied, prodding the tempura with his chopsticks and itching to snatch his phone away, run upstairs to his room and lock the door. "There's no budget ban for the festival this year and there's a wealthy person in our class and she provided what was needed for the interior of the café. We pooled money for the materials of the costumes and there's a kid from a family who runs a boutique. Her mother helped with the more complicated outfits." He ended the last sentence with a tone hinting that he would disclose no more information from his lips.
"Ohh," the two females replied. They recognized the young boy's tone and respected his indirect plea to remain silent, pursing their lips and swallowing the questions that they were planning on asking. They didn't expect much from him in terms of sharing his school activities and experiences. He wasn't a vocal person in the first place and it took effort for him to complete a single sentence let alone a paragraph like that one. Therefore, they contented themselves with looking through more pictures.
"You've seen enough, don't you think?" Ryoma said, impatiently tapping one foot under the table.
"Just one more minute, Ryoma-san," Nanako told him.
Ryoma sighed. "One minute. No more, no less," he said, his tone implying that he is reaching the limit of his patience.
It was such a mistake for Ryoma to give them those extra sixty seconds because they have already reached the pictures he definitely doesn't want them to see. The two women stared at the screen with wide eyes, stopping on a photo of Ryoma and a really pretty girl with wavy long black hair standing closely side by side.
Nanako gave her aunt an intrigued look which Rinko answered by raising an eyebrow. They moved on to the next picture which showed Ryoma with the same girl. They were standing intimately close with Ryoma's right arm draped over the girl's shoulders and the girl's fluffy head of black hair tilted towards him. They seemed to be looking at a camera in front of them and this picture was taken from the side without their knowledge.
Both Nanako and Rinko looked at Ryoma with their eyes narrowed suspiciously. Ryoma noticed their blatant staring and didn't like the glint in their eyes. "What?" he asked.
"I wonder who this girl is~ She looks real pretty~" Rinko said in a singsong voice, mildly teasing and showed the picture to her son.
"The two of you seem close," Nanako added and looked eager to hear more information from her cousin.
Ryoma frowned and regretted that he didn't take his phone right away but otherwise, he looked "calm. "Oh well," he thought. "They're bound to know about her sooner or later anyway... Why delay it?" he told himself.
The two women seemed a bit disappointed that he wasn't flustered. The sober-faced Ryoma poured himself a glass of water and said, "You can't recognize her? Did she really change that much?"
"Huh?" His mother and cousin chorused, blinking in confusion.
Rinko looked again at the girl and zoomed into her face. "Now that I think about it, she does look familiar..." she thought.
She looked carefully at the girl's features and her eyes widened. "This... She's..." she said, blinking in mixed confusion and delight.
"Ryouko-tan dewanaika? (Isn't that Ryouko-tan?)" said an enthusiastic voice from behind her. Rinko and Nanako almost jumped in fright. Nanjiro is right behind them, peering at the phone with joyous eyes.
"Oyaji," Ryoma said in surprise. He looked around him and wondered how his father snuck there without making a sound.
"Anata! (Dear!)" Rinko exclaimed. "Don't just pop out of nowhere like that! You'll give people a heart attack! Aren't you upstairs taking a nap?"
"I just went down for a shot of sake. I sleep better that way," Nanjiro simply answered and went back to the photo. Placing a hand on the stubble in his chin, he peered curiously at the picture. "Oh right. I almost forgot. Ryouko-tan's in Seishun and she's in the same class as our stupid son."
"Ryouko-chan is studying in Seishun Academy?" Rinko repeated in shock. "Since when was she in Japan?"
"She said she's just been here for a few months. She visited our house about almost a week ago and made dinner for Ryoma and me. She's such a nice-looking young lady now... Even I had trouble recognizing her. She's no longer the little girl from before though she's still adorable," Nanjiro told them. Before Rinko could react to that new piece of information, Nanjiro took the phone from her. "Let me see that," he said and browsed through the pictures with Ryouko in them.
"Ah, she's such an angel..." he added with adoration in his tone. "It must be nice having a daughter in the house... Someone adorable like Ryouko-tan and not this prickly bloke of a son," he added.
Ryoma frowned. It's not the first time his father puts him down using Ryouko but everytime Nanjiro does, it always gets on his nerve.
"Ryouko's here so does it mean that Rikka-chan and Ryoutaro-kun moved here in Japan?" Rinko asked, still getting over the shock.
"Nope. She's living alone," Nanjiro answered.
"Not exactly alone," Ryoma corrected. "Licht-san is with her. And her cousin Ichidou is just away for a few weeks."
"Oh, that capable young butler who's been taking of her since she was a baby and that cute redhead who's always following her around?" Rinko asked.
"Umm..." Nanako said, raising her hand like a student trying to get a teacher's attention. "Excuse me but who's this 'Ryouko-tan'? she asked, a bit upset to be left out in the conversation.
"Oh right... Nanako-chan doesn't know her since you haven't visited us even once when we were living in America..." Rinko remarked and turned to her niece. "Ryouko-chan is Ryoma's childhood friend and the only daughter of my bestfriend in college. She's Ryoma's age and they even attended the same elementary school. They were inseparable as children. It was so cute seeing them together."
"Ohh..." Nanako said in surprise and looked at her cousin. It was such a shock to hear that Ryoma had a childhood friend that he's extremely close with. "And a girl at that," she thought.
"I feel bad... How come Ryouko-chan didn't look for me when she visited? Not even a phone call to greet me," Rinko said, sounding disappointed.
"She did look for you. And she wants to greet you in person," Nanjiro told her.
"Why don't you invite her over to the house again, my dear son?" Rinko said enthusiastically, turning to Ryoma.
"Can't. We're too busy with the festival ongoing," Ryoma simply answered.
Nanjiro blinked and noticed something a bit off in his son's tone of voice.
Ryoma suddenly got up from his seat. With no hesitation, he snatched the phone from his father. "Enough of this. I still have a long day ahead of me tomorrow so I'll turn in for the night early," he told them.
"Seishounen, print out Ryouko-tan's pictures and give some to me," Nanjiro demanded.
"I'm not printing pictures and if I do, as if I'll give some to you, you perverted old man. What do you need her pictures for?" Ryoma said, narrowing his eyes at his Dad.
Nanako and Rinko also narrowed their eyes at him suspiciously.
"Oi, oi, don't get me wrong! What are you guys thinking? Ryouko-tan's like a daughter to me! Isn't it wrong for a Dad to want some pictures to commemorate his daughter's life events?" Nanjiro said, defending himself.
His phone safely clutched in his hand, Ryoma left them to bicker among themselves and made his way upstairs. It was only when he was safe within the walls of his room that he finally sighed in relief. What a day and what a night... Truth be told, he's more mentally beat than physically exhausted.
After hiding his phone under the depths of his closet, he went to brush his teeth and got ready for bed.
The moment he turned his lights off and settled comfortably on the bed, Ryoma found himself in strange situation. He even fell asleep in the bathtub, how come he's having trouble sleeping now? Groaning, he tossed to the side.
Staring at the alarm clock on his bedside table, his eyes strayed to the pack of pretzels barely visible from behind a picture frame beside it. He usually snacked while reading and listening to music during weekends. He thought that he already ate each of the snacks scattered all over his room. He must've overlooked that one.
He reached over and took the pretzels. All of a sudden, he was reminded of the afternoon's events.
Seishun Academy, 1:00 PM
"Mami, what the heck does this mean?" Ryouko said, elbowing her way to the brown-haired troublemaker.
"Well, it's just as you heard in the announcement. I registered both of you to the Ms. And Mr. Seishun Pageant," Mami simply answered.
"We haven't heard anything about that," Ryoma remarked, confronting her as well.
Mami scratched her head. "I only remembered about it at the last minute and thought that registering the leads in the play would bring more attention to our play. I forgot to mention it because we've been so busy running around and getting things ready for the booth," she said, trying to sound apologetic.
"Yeah right," Mami thought. "As if I'd forget such an important thing... I know all the mechanics for the elimination process of the pageant. Having Ryouko-chan and Echizen-kun participate will give them more chances of spending time with each other and give our play some exposure at the same time! Two birds with one stone! I'm such a genius," she gloated internally.
Seeing Mami scratching her head and looking troubled, Ryouko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Knowing Mami, it's not as simple as she explained. She must've done this on purpose like that table designation thingy with Atobe.
Speaking of Atobe, Ryouko almost forgot that he was still there. She turned her head to look at the purple-haired young man.
Atobe was wearing a scowl darker than night itself and he is directing that scowl at Ryoma, his eyes filled with malice. Ryoma had the feeling of being watched and looked for the person staring daggers at him. He found him in no time and returned the scowl with one of his own.
"Why're they always like that?" Ryouko wondered. She heard that the fight between Seigaku and Hyotei during the Nationals was hostile but they're not playing tennis now and there's no reason to get riled up. Despite their awful personalities, both boys are good sports and they don't have the habit of dragging grudges on the court outside. "Or at least I think so..." she added in her mind.
"Again, would the participants please gather in the track area..." the PA announcement stole Ryouko's attention.
"Now, now..." Mami said and brought Ryoma and Ryouko together, placing a hand on each of their arms. "I'll make up for this later. Please do our class a favor and participate. It'll only take an hour at most and you can take a break afterwards."
"Only an hour?" Miyako asked, a bit confused.
"Yes... After all, this is only the elimination round. Then there's another competition tomorrow to round up the final ten. The final pageant would be hosted on Wednesday night," Mami explained.
Ryoma and Ryouko became more furious upon hearing that. "Why did you sign us up on something so troublesome?" they complained in unison.
"That's why I said I'll make up for it... I'll treat you guys to anything, I promise!" Mami told them and made a cross over her heart.
"This is the last straw from you Mami. You already made use of me twice today," Ryouko said in a warning tone.
Mami jutted out her lower lip with an upset expression and clung to Ryouko's arm like a child. "I'm so sorry... I love you, Ryouko-sama," she said and puckered her lips, looking extraordinarily similar to a carp, and attempted to kiss Ryouko on the cheek.
Ryouko squirmed away from her saying, "Okay, okay, I get it. Take those octopus lips away from me."
Mami gasped and pretended to look hurt. "Octopus lips? You're too much Ryouko-sama!"
The rest of the class laughed at Mami's silliness.
Shuu smiled and looked at her with fondness in his eyes. Ayase Mami is a handful, a troublemaker and a slave-driver. She rushes headlong into things and gets people tangled in her schemes. All of the class members know how irritating she could be but she has that way with people that make them refrain from hating her. She doesn't mind looking silly or playing the clown to make tense situations lighter. The best of her qualities is that she never minds what people are saying about her. Even if they call her ugly, crazy, stupid or nosy, she doesn't let their words hurt her. That is very hard to do especially for an adolescent in her puberty years. That is the exact reason why she can rush at things in a straightforward manner, something that Shuu had never done in his life.
He had always thought that they were mismatched as friends but that may not be the case. They might actually be compatible being polar opposites. Mami provides the things that he lacks and he is perhaps the only one aside from Miyako who can withstand her nosiness and hold her back when she's going too crazy.
Ryoma sighed and decided to play along with Ayase Mami's plan. Like Ryouko, he had the suspicion that Ayase signed them up on purpose. There's just no 'accidents' with that girl who only turns clever when strategizing about things that amuses and interests her.
Ryouko and Ryoma changed out of their costumes and put on their PE uniforms as instructed by the announcement on the PA system. After that, they made their way to the track area.
Atobe Keigo crossed his arms over his chest and tagged along behind them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ryouko said as she looked over her shoulder.
"I'm gonna watch," Atobe answered in an annoyed tone.
Ryouko sighed. "Can't you just go home? It's tiring enough for me without you here to piss me off."
"The festival is open to everyone. I'll go home when I feel like it," Atobe answered.
They reached the tent where the other participants of the pageant were waiting and a member of the Executive Committee suddenly blocked Atobe's way. "Sorry sir. The spectator's area is that way," he told him and pointed to the spaces on both sides of the track field where people anticipating to watch the pageant were gathered.
Ryoma heard this and he purposely threw a sneer at Atobe over his shoulder. "Outsiders in the audience site," he mouthed at him.
Atobe seethed in anger, a tic going off under his left eye. Ryoma smiled in satisfaction over his annoyed face.
In less than five minutes, the participants of the pageant were assembled in the field whilst the person hosting the event called enthusiastically at the audience using a wireless microphone.
"Welcome everyone to Seishun Academy's 75th Cultural Festival's Miss and Mister Seishun Pageant! We're here to witness twenty-one pairs of the finest ladies and gentlemen of our school, representing their class and trying their shot at winning the crown to become Seishun Academy's very own prince and princess!"
The crowd cheered and a familiar squeal could be heard faintly among the crowd's noise. Upon hearing Ryoma and Ryouko's name in the announcement of the PA system, the Fudoumine folks who were busily playing over Momoshiro's class booth decided to check out the pageant.
An just pelted her last water balloon at the already-drenched Momo, hitting him right in the chest.
"Yay!" An cheered. "My second win!" she said excitedly.
"You're a little too good at this, don't you think?" Momo said, taking off the orange merman tail and accepting a towel from a female classmate. He dried the side of his neck. His shift was over with that last game. He approached An with an amused smile on his mildly tanned face.
"Of course. I'm the best at these kinds of games," An said with an air of arrogance.
"How impressive. I'm also quite a winner when it comes to games like these," he said, smirking. "There's a shooting game by one of the second-year classes over there. What do you say to a duel?"
"I accept any challenge," An replied, sounding confident.
Suddenly, her eyes noticed Momoshiro's drenched white shirt. She could see the outline of his abs and pectorals as the fabric clung to his soaked skin. The hot sun left his nicely-toned arms and manly face a bit tanned and his usually spiky hair was wilted from sweat and splashes of water. An's eyes shifted to the drops of sweat and water falling from his temple to the side of his neck. The deep collarbone caught the droplets, lining the skin covering it. The water gleamed as the light hit it.
It was only then that An realized that Momoshiro Takeshi can be such a hunk in the right circumstances. Her face slowly reddened and she felt a hot flush on her cheeks.
"Tachibana An," Momoshiro called and waved the towel in front of her. "You okay? Your face is red," he added and impulsively reached over to touch her forehead.
A hand suddenly intercepted Momoshiro's own and blocked its way to An's forehead. "She's fine. It's just the heat," an icy cold voice said with an ominous tone. Momo looked up to the stony and serious-eyed Tachibana Kippei.
An snapped to her senses after hearing her brother's tone of voice. "Ye-yeah, I'm f-fine!" she stammered and turned around to place her hands over her hot cheeks.
"What was that, An? Were you checking him out? And you actually blushed? You must be crazy!" she scolded herself, her face getting redder.
Momoshiro blinked before realizing that the brother was being protective of his little sister. He brought his hand down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to," Momo said with a good-natured grin, running a hand over his wet hair.
The other Fudoumine guys watched this scene with mixed feelings.
"Ara, ara. Look at that," Ishida remarked in amusement.
"He doesn't look like it but Tachibana-san might actually have a sister complex," Sakurai commented.
"There's only the two of them as siblings in the family. You can't blame him," Uchimura pointed out.
"Damn you, Momo. Go die," Kamio hissed to himself between gritted teeth after peering under his shirt. He's a little too skinny to match Momoshiro's physique. He made a mental note to increase his muscle training once they're back on practice.
It was when they were waiting for Momoshiro to get changed into dry clothes that they heard the announcement echoing all over the school. At the mention of Ryouko's name, Ibu Shinji who was turning into a hollow husk from boredom and disinterest suddenly looked alive.
Momo was done changing and he looked at the nearest speaker with a curious expression. "Echizen and Ryouko are gonna be Class 1-2's representatives? They're leads of their play and the main attraction of their class booth. And now they're even spearheading the pageant? Man, those two are on the roll... I didn't know they would be so active in the festival events..." he commented.
"Nee, Momo-kun..." An said, approaching him with shining eyes. "Can we check out the pageant first before going to the shooting booth?" she asked enthusiastically.
"Sure..." Momoshiro answered with a smile. "I'm also curious of how those two will fare."
And just like that, the Fudoumine folks began to be a part of the cheering crowd. Fortunately for both the crowd and the contestants, the hot weather is becoming better. White clouds rolled in and blocked the sun and a comfortable breeze was carried by the northerly wind.
"Go for it! Echizen-kun! Ryouko-chan!" An yelled. Suddenly, she spotted someone familiar at the side.
"Atobe-san!" she said, quite surprised.
Tachibana Kippei and the others looked at the direction where An is staring. They advanced towards the violet-haired Hyotei King, greeting him as they walked.
"What're you doing here, Tachibana? Got a lot of free time in your hands ei?" Atobe greeted back, sounding sarcastic because of his sour mood.
"I should say the same to you," Tachibana Kippei answered, unfazed by Atobe's caustic remark.
"How rude," An snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Our school is closed by the management for today. We just came here to enjoy a rare holiday. You're the one who might be playing hooky," she said, her tone full of accusation.
"Skipping my private lessons can't be called playing hooky. I can reschedule them anytime I want," Atobe countered.
"Tsk," Kamio said. "Imaimashii o kanemochi (Hateful rich people)," he hooted under his breath.
"And now to explain the rules of the competition!" the announcement of the emcee interrupted their random blabbering.
"Some people might already be aware that the Seishun Pageant is not like your ordinary pageant but for those that doesn't know anything about it, let me explain in detail," he said, brandishing a forefinger at the crowd smartly. "The pageant runs for three days with the elimination rounds during Monday and Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 pm and the final pageant where the participants would showcase their beauty on stage wearing beautiful outfits would be on Wednesday night at 6:30 pm. The two elimination rounds would test the compatibility of the twenty-one pairs and their ability to entertain the crowd. For today, our chosen elimination process is a very innovative one: an Eating Contest Relay Race!"
There was buzzing in the crowd and among the lines of the contestants upon hearing this.
"Eating contest..." An said.
"...Relay Race," Shinji finished.
"Ooh... Sounds interesting..." Momoshiro remarked, his black eyes shining with excitement.
"The race is simple and has three checkpoints. Please feast your eyes on the track area where a couple of our Executive Committee members give a demonstration of the contest," the emcee grandly swept his hand towards the track area. A male and female senior waved their hands to the crowd and bowed. The crowd gave them appreciative claps.
The wide track area has quite a peculiar set up. In the starting line, there are twenty-one small stands with a single box of Pocky chocolate-covered pretzel sticks and a small empty transparent container. About fifteen meters away, there are twenty one chairs placed parallel to the stands.
"In the first checkpoint, the males have to take their seats on the chairs provided," the emcee narrated as the executive members demonstrated what he is saying. "The females would stay at the starting line by the stands and open the Pocky pretzel box upon the sound of the starting pistol. This signals the start of the race. The girls would place the end of a Pocky stick, the end uncovered by chocolate between their teeth and run to their partner. The idea is to feed the chocolate-covered part of the pretzel to their partner without using their hands!"
The crowd cheered and the girls squealed when the two seniors demonstrated the obstacle. The girl held her face close to her partner's as he bit away little by little at the chocolate-covered portion of the Pocky stick.
There was uproar at the lines of contestants when they saw that. Their faces were slowly turning pink and they couldn't look at their partners.
"No way! Why would they make us do that!" some of the girls complained.
"Elimination rounds that would test the compatibility of the pairs and their ability to entertain the crowd huh? I see what they're trying to do here now..." Fuji Syusuke commented amidst the mixed cheers and complaints.
He looked sidewards at his partner who was sneaking a glance at him through the corner of her chestnut-brown eyes.
"Is this okay for you, Hara-san?" he asked in a gentlemanly tone.
"Mmp... Yea, I think so..." the shy senior girl answered and averted her eyes timidly.
The reason why Fuji was called by Matsuoka and was forced to retreat from Class 1-2's café was because he needed to participate in the pageant with the girl playing their Juliet. She said that it's to draw attention to their play and to help Hara-san get over her shyness at close proximity encounters with Fuji. It's fine with Fuji and all but... he stared at the line of the first year competitors, spotting Echizen Ryoma and Fujioka Ryouko at one glance.
"That's not okay..." he thought, feeling annoyed.
Meanwhile, the emcee and the demonstrators had proceeded with the demonstration. "The male partner has to eat the choco-covered portion of the pretzel completely and the ladies have to take the uncovered end back to the starting line, drop it into the empty container and get another Pocky stick. The pair has to go through five Pocky sticks to clear the first obstacle then they have to go to the second checkpoint to clear the next one."
The attention of the crowd followed the movements of the two demonstrators. They stopped by the second checkpoint which has a long bar set above the heads of the competitors. There are twenty-one apples tied on a string.
"The second checkpoint is an apple-eating contest. The pair has to place their hands behind them and bite into the apple without using their hands. This requires cooperation and harmony between the male and female partners. The idea is to eat all the sides of the apple and leave only the core."
The demonstrators earned a lot of whoops and enthusiastic screams when the boy held the apple stead with his lips while the girl bites into the other side. After that, the girl pressed her cheek to the uneaten portion of the apple and held the fruit steady while her partner took a big bite. Their faces were ridiculously close to each other.
The expressions of the competitors are becoming darker, particularly Ryoma's and Ryouko's expressions.
"Pageant? More like forced public display of affection," Ryouko thought, despising the person who came up with the obstacles of the elimination round.
"That's far too embarrassing. How the heck do they expect us to do that in front of this huge crowd?" Ryoma mused, equally annoyed. "And I don't like apples!" he added.
Both Ryoma and Ryouko tried sneaking a glance at the other and ended up meeting each other's eyes. Flustered, they looked away immediately.
"Tsk," came the irritated response of Fuji and Atobe as they saw it happen. The two fixed their eyes on Ryoma and Ryouko as if their life depended on it.
In the third checkpoint, there are twenty-one slim and tall tables with six lunchbox containers and a bowl with what looked like chicken balls from faraway. There are two sticks poked at two of them. There are also two containers of water at the sides of the table.
"The third checkpoint is a takoyaki-eating contest. However, there's a catch. There are a total of six mystery containers that has different types of dips and sauces inside. The males would take a takoyaki on a stick and dip it into a container of their choice. They have to feed the takoyaki to their female partner."
The demonstrators did as the emcee narrated. The male senior selected container number 3 and the mystery dip inside is strawberry jam. His female partner winced. She looked at the jam-covered takoyaki in disgust and asked, "Do I really have to eat that?"
"Of course," the emcee answered with his microphone.
The crowd encouraged her and she finally opened her mouth to eat the strange-flavored takoyaki.
"Ewww!" she said after swallowing. "It tastes so yucky! They don't go well with each other!"
The crowd laughed while the girl reached out for the bottle water at the side of the containers.
"Hold it right there! No water until all of the containers is opened!"
"Ehh?" the female senior said, her tongue itching at the aftertaste of the jam-takoyaki.
"Don't worry, I won't let you guys reveal all of the mystery dips and sauces anyway... The girls will select the container next and feed their male partners. They have to do this on alternate until all six containers are opened. This means that a member of the pair has to eat three takoyaki each. After this, only will we allow everyone to have a sip of water."
The contestants groaned. Who knows what's inside those containers? Whatever they are, one thing is for sure. Those are dips and sauces that are not compatible with takoyaki.
"After the third checkpoint, the partners would find a rolled-up straw rope under one of the containers and they have to tie this to each of their feet," the emcee said. "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the last obstacle is a three-legged race," he added. "The first fifteen pairs to reach the finish line will advance to the second elimination round that would take place here tomorrow!"
The crowd cheered and some whistled. Members of the audience shouted for the emcee to start the contest right away.
"Begin the competition!"
"Yea, we wanna see!"
"Let the games begin!"
"Wow, it looks like the crowd is fired up after seeing the demonstration! Are our contestants ready?" he said and placed a hand over one ear.
"NO!!!" came the furious reply from the line of competitors.
The crowd laughed and they became more excited.
"Oh come on! Where's your culture fest spirit? It's just a game so you guys enjoy it!" the emcee grinned, unperturbed by the negative reply of the contestants.
The lines of competitors looked at each other. "Yes, he's right... It's just a game..." they whispered at each other.
"But... will anyone ever want to marry me once this is done? I haven't even held hands with a boy before, let alone feed and..." a freshman girl said and buried her pink face in her hands.
"It's okay Takahashi... If that happens, I'll marry you," her partner said with a teasing grin.
"Shut up, Kimura you idiot!" she exclaimed and tried to kick him.
The little comedy act made the contestants loosen up a little. They looked at their partners sheepishly. "Well... let's just get this over with..." they said to the other.
The contestants took their places in the starting line, the girls standing beside the stands where the Pocky pretzel box is waiting and the boys sitting down on the respective chairs.
Tachibana An squealed. "Oh this is too good to miss! Let me through! I need to take pictures of Ryouko-chan and Echizen-kun!" she said and elbowed the crowd to get to the front.
"Oi, you might get injured forcing your way like that," Momoshiro said and assisted her breakthrough. "Sorry, please let us through..." he said and widened his sturdy arms to keep people from accidentally hitting An.
"Hmm..." Tachibana Kippei mused and narrowed his eyes at Momoshiro. "Not bad..." he thought as he watched Momo keep his sister safe from the crowd.
Kamio saw the approving look in Tachibana's eyes and cursed Momoshiro Takeshi further in his mind.
Meanwhile, the contest is reaching its start-up.
"Everybody ready?!" the emcee asked enthusiastically.
"YES!" the contestants and the crowd yelled in unison.
The emcee took out a starting pistol and pointed it at the sky. "Join me everyone! Three!" he shouted.
"TWO!" the crowd joined as he counted down.
"ONE!"
At the ear-splitting sound of the pistol, the girls began tearing the packaging of the Pocky box.
Ryouko was first to open her pack. She likes eating those kinds of snacks and thus has her own way to open the box and the inside packaging quickly and cleanly. She took out a pretzel stick and bit lightly to the end uncovered with chocolate before jogging towards Ryoma seated on the chair.
As she neared him, Ryouko concentrated on keeping her face sober. "It's alright. Easy-peasy. It's just a game. No need to rush," she told herself. She hated the fact that she's feeling a bit nervous at such a silly game.
When she finally reached him, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Be quick with it," she said, her words a bit slurred.
"Wakatteiruyo! (I know!)" Ryoma said in annoyance.
Ryouko placed both hands on the arms of the chair and leaned downward towards Ryoma's face.
Swallowing his hesitation, Ryoma bit off half of the choco-covered portion of the pretzel stick. He was completely deaf to the noise around him, the comments of the emcee as he announced the highlights of the competition, the enthusiastic cheers from the audience and the fussing of the other contestants near them. He couldn't hear anything and concentrated on the task at hand.
With another bite, he bit off what remained of the choco-covered portion. As he did so, Ryouko breathed out through her nose. He flinched when her breath tickled his skin.
Immediately, Ryouko broke away from him and ran back to the stand to get another pretzel. "What was that, what was that?" she thought, her cheeks heating up as she dropped the uncovered portion of the pretzel to the container. She stared at it and noticed that it's only an inch long. "No wonder I can feel his breath!" she exclaimed inside her head.
They finished the second pretzel with more flinching as the other's breath tickled the other's skin. Ryouko ran back to get the third pretzel.
"Would you stop breathing for a moment?" Ryoma suddenly said when he was about to take the second bite to finish the choco-covered portion.
"Huh?" Ryouko said, irritated. "You want me to keel over and die? How about I make you stop breathing instead?" she hissed through the space between her teeth.
"Spit, your spit's flying," Ryoma said, touching his cheek to his shoulder to wipe the saliva spots on his sleeve. "I mean hold your breath while I'm eating the pretzel! Your breathing's too distracting! And you're also disgusting. Sheesh," he said in annoyance.
Ryouko glared at him. "You also hold your breath then," she said, her words slurred. And so they cleared the last two pretzels with the two of them holding their breath.
They were the first ones to reach the second checkpoint. Other teams encountered different kind of problems like the pretzels breaking off because the girls bit into it too hard. They had to run back to the stands and get another pretzel. Other problems were that of the boys being too self-conscious to bite at the pretzel when it's gotten too short.
"Okay," Ryouko said and held her hands together at her back. "Let's do this like how the seniors did. I bite first and you hold it in place."
Ryoma also placed his hands on his back and went into position. Before leaning forward at the apple, he noticed a strange detail. Why does their apple seem to be quite smaller than the others?
Meanwhile, Ayase Mami watched the competition from the window of their classroom, her chin sitting onto cupped hands with her elbows rested on the windowsill. She plastered on a victorious grin. "Behold, the apple-eating contest and Master Cutie Mami's skill of manipulation as member of the Executive Committee... Smaller apple would require lesser time to eat and..." she giggled, "Echizen-kun and Ryouko-chan's faces would be closer together... After all, I'm the one who bought the apples and tied them to the strings with each class number... Fair play is for dummies. All is fair in love and war and this is my version of World War III."
Ryouko chewed and swallowed what she bit off and signaled Ryoma with her eyes. Like what the female senior did, she placed her cheek on the uneaten portion of the apple to let Ryoma bite next. However, an unexpected thing happened. Ryouko placed her cheek on the apple but Ryoma missed the timing and caused the apple to roll to the side. His half-opened lips collided with Ryouko's cheek instead.
There was uproar from the crowd and some guys attempted to throw water bottles at the track.
"Echizen Ryoma, foul play!"
"Get away from our Ryouko!"
"Damn it I'm so angry and jealous!"
"Why is he so dang lucky?!"
"Die, you scoundrel!"
"An accident!" the emcee reported excitedly, so excited that he's practically jumping as he pointed a finger at Ryoma and Ryouko in the second checkpoint. "An accident from Class 1-2 and a wonderful accidental kiss on the cheek!"
"It wasn't a kiss!" the furious pair shouted at him.
"Sheesh," Ryoma said in annoyance, trying to ignore the warmth on his cheeks. "I almost bit her!" he thought, slightly frantic.
"Dummy, can't you do better?" Ryouko scolded him while calming her heartbeat down at the same time. Like what happened during camp at the top of the White Tower, the sensation of Ryoma's lips lingered on her cheek. She also faintly felt Ryoma bite onto her cheek lightly. Well, he was supposed to bite at the apple so he must've impulsively closed his mouth a bit.
It was very awkward for both the almost-biter and the almost-bitten. They shook off the thought and focused on the obstacle.
"Just finish up the damned apple and let's move on to the next checkpoint!" Ryoma yelled.
The two became particularly slower and the other teams began to catch up. Well, who cared if the other pairs catch up? What's important is that they avoid another accident from happening. They shared this thought but were distracted for a second.
A member of the pair next to them brushed by Ryoma and made him lose timing. Ryouko was about to lean to the apple when Ryoma impulsively leaned as well. Their lips almost collided if not for the two of them backing away at the last millisecond.
"Abonai (Dangerous)," Ryoma thought and silently cussed.
"Thank you God for my fast reflexes!" Ryouko said in her mind.
At last, the two of them managed to reduce the apple to a core. Mentally-strained and physically drained, they moved on to the next checkpoint.
Back at current time in the residence of the Echizens, the black-haired boy touched his forehead with one hand and felt his temperature rise a notch. Then he removed his hand from his forehead and placed a finger on his lower lip.
He was reminded of the sensation of Ryouko's breath on his skin, and of the soft cheek he almost bit. It made him feel light-headed.
"Light-headed?" he mused and started shaking off the thought. "It's because I fell asleep in the bathtub. That's why I'm light-headed. Get you facts right, ore (me)," he mumbled under his breath.
Groaning, he kicked the sheets off of him. "Why is it so hot tonight!" he complained to himself. "Mom! Please turn on the aircon!" he yelled, loud enough for the people downstairs to hear him.
"Aircon?" his mother shouted back, her voice a bit muffled. "Are you mad, child? The night's really chilly! Open your window!"
~~~
Fujioka Ryouko went down to the kitchen to get herself a midnight snack. Her sleep had been on and off for the past five hours and she suddenly felt her stomach rumble lightly. And so, she rolled off her bed to walk a little and also get something to eat.
When she opened the refrigerator, she looked at the groceries stored inside. Like a strange coincidence, her eyes stopped on the apples placed in the fruit drawer. The afternoon's events flashed to her mind and she recalled the awful experiences brought upon her by that silly pageant.
Grabbing a carton of milk, she slammed the door of the refrigerator shut and took a glass from the counter. As she poured the milk, she went back on what happened after they cleared the second obstacle of the relay race.
Seishun Academy Track Area, 2:08 PM
"Class 1-2 representatives Fujioka Ryouko and Echizen Ryoma are fourth to reach the third checkpoint," the emcee announced.
"This'll be easier. Be quick about it," Ryouko said, panting a little.
Ryoma speared a takoyaki on one stick and picked the last container. It contained a thick red paste. He didn't hesitate to dip the takoyaki completely into the paste.
"Oi, not too much," Ryouko hissed but was a second too late.
"Huh?" Ryoma said and ended up dipping even the stick onto the thick paste.
"You can douse just a bit of the takoyaki into the sauce. There's no rule that you have to entirely submerge it. Why don't you use your head," she scolded.
"I just did as the seniors demonstrated earlier," Ryoma pointed out matter-of-factly.
"I'll get you at the second one," she added, glaring at him.
"Whatever, you childish grudge-driven loony," Ryoma said and fed her the takoyaki.
Ryouko winced as she tried swallowing it whole. "Tomato paste..." she groaned and lamented her poor tongue. Unseasoned, pure tomato paste... Yuck!
Ryoma couldn't stop the corners of his lips from turning up as he saw her expression. Ryouko noticed his contorting face.
"You think this is funny?" she said and speared the second takoyaki. "I'll show you funny," she chose container two and opened it. It looked like cream cheese.
"Cream cheese?" she exclaimed. "Hey, this is unfair!"
"Who said that only disgusting dips are there? There are decent ones as well," the emcee said as the competitors began unearthing the identity of the sauces and dips one by one.
Ryoma flashed a victorious sneer at Ryouko. "Go ahead," he said with a shrug.
With a scowl, Ryouko doused the takoyaki in the cream cheese and fed it to Ryoma. "I hope you choke," she told him.
Ryoma chewed in comfort and only smirked more annoyingly. He took the third takoyaki and selected the fourth container. It contained the strawberry jam. Ryouko made a face.
Indeed, Ryouko proved to herself that strawberry jam and takoyaki does not go well together. The female senior was right.
For Ryoma's second turn, he got mayonnaise. "What?!" Ryouko burst out in anger. She glowered at Ryoma, seeming to blame him for his good luck.
"Hey, you're the one choosing the container, not me," he pointed out.
After Ryoma savored the mayo-takoyaki, Ryouko was onto her last one. He picked the first container and was amused at what he saw. That red color, those spices visible on the paste and that smell, he knew what this is...
Salsa dip.
Ryouko's eyes widened in horror. She hated salsa dips! The first time her grandfather made her try dipping tortilla chips on that red paste, she was traumatized. She could only tolerate mild salsa dips personally home-made by Licht and herself, and she's not particularly fond of making those salsa dips either. She has absolutely nothing against Mexican food but salsa dips are absolute taboo to her taste buds, even worse than bitter gourd.
On the annual health check when she was ten, she found out the reason why she doesn't like salsa. It's not the salsa's fault either. She was told by their family doctor that her stomach does not take salsa favorably unless they take out one ingredient. She has slight food intolerance towards the spice, cumin, which can be found in most salsa recipes. It wasn't so severe as to cause true food allergy but it can still make her feel a reaction. As for her case, she doesn't like salsa in the first place so even small amounts of it with cumin can make her dizzy or cause stomach discomfort.
He looked at Ryoma with her eyes still wide as saucers and if it were possible, her eyes went wider at the malicious smile on Ryoma's lips. With no mercy whatsoever, he submerged the takoyaki in the salsa dip and even stirred it onto the sauces.
The excess sauce from the salsa-covered takoyaki dripped onto the table like blood. Fujioka Ryouko went as pale as a ghost.
"Here you go," Ryoma told her and smiled. "Isn't this fortunate? Salsa dips might actually taste compatible with takoyaki."
"You demon!" Ryouko exclaimed in her mind as she silently gritted her teeth. "You absolutely know that I hate salsa!"
Her lips trembled when she ate her last takoyaki. And just like that, Fujioka Ryouko was K.O'd. Ryoma got sweetened milk for his last dip and while it might not be the best to compliment the takoyaki, the taste was bearable. They finished the bottle of water until the last drop and went to find the rope under the containers.
They unearthed the straw rope from under the third container and tied their feet together. Ryouko sweated far too much while doing the three-legged race and she surprisingly kept her mouth shut the whole time.
Ryoma looked at her sideways and felt a bit guilty. "Does she still hate salsa that much?" he wondered.
They were third to finish the race and therefore, they are automatically part of the pairs to advance to tomorrow's elimination round. As soon as she got the rope untied from her ankle, Ryouko ran towards the nearest sink.
Turning the faucet on, she blanched and rinsed her mouth off. Fuji and Hara-san were second to finish and as soon as he saw Ryouko's strange behavior, he ran towards her to the sinks. Atobe Keigo and Ibu Shinji arrived shortly after, followed by the other members of the Fudoumine tennis club and Momoshiro.
"What's wrong?" Fuji, Shinji and Atobe asked, absolutely synchronized.
"Nothing..." Ryouko said and drank some water from the faucet.
"What nothing? You look like you've been bleached," Atobe said, scolding a bit.
"Salsa," she said and pressed a hand on her stomach. "Cumin," she added and held onto the sink to support herself.
"One of the sauces inside those containers is salsa," Fuji told them. The emcee didn't really announce the identities of the dips and sauces that were used in the contest.
"But Ryouko's allergic to that!" Atobe exclaimed.
"Not really allergic. Just a bit of food intolerance..." she said when a worried look flashed through the eyes of the people around her. "I'll be fine if I rest a bit."
Allergy to cumin? Ryoma's eyes widened a bit. As far as he knew, Fujioka Ryouko has no food allergies but he does know that since they were young, she didn't take lightly to salsa dips. He thought that she only hated it. She actually has food intolerance over it?
"Idiot, you should've said something and you wouldn't have to eat the damn thing," Atobe scolded. "You don't need rest, you need medicine. Where's the infirmary?"
"Medicine? So fussy. Our doctor said I don't need anti-histamine. I can actually get rid of the intolerance if I consume it little by little. I just don't because I've grown to hate salsa even if you take out cumin from the ingredients," she said and took the bottle of water that An offered her.
She mumbled a 'thanks' and drank deeply from it, narrowing her eyes at Atobe for making her seem like a weakling.
"But you still have to rest, no?" Fuji told her with a smile. "Going to the infirmary might be best. After all, the day's not over yet and you might want to return to your class booth," he added.
Ryouko seemed to ponder it over and she finally agreed to be taken to the infirmary after a second. Seeing a whole crowd escort her to the building where the infirmary is located, Ryoma chose to go back to their classroom.
He clenched his fist. "How can I know that she shouldn't eat that if she doesn't tell me herself?" he thought and felt bitter that Atobe Keigo knew something about her that he didn't.
Afterwards, Fuji was called back to their class booth, Atobe got a call to return home and Ryouko sent An and the other Fudoumine folks away so they can enjoy the remainder of the day's festivities. Shinji was reluctant to leave but nevertheless honored her request.
When she was alone in the room, she silently cursed at Ryoma for force-feeding her something that he knows she hates. She remembered seeing him by the corner when she was surrounded by the others in the sink.
Her bad mood turned to another different feeling. "He didn't hear Keigo's fussing about allergies and whatnot, did he?" she thought worriedly.
Knowing Ryoma's personality, if he becomes aware that he unknowingly fed her something bad to her body, he would definitely be guilt-ridden. She bit down on her lower lip. Was he near enough to overhear their conversation? She tried hard to remember just exactly how close he was at that moment.
Suddenly, the door of the infirmary opened. "This stall is occupied. Feel free to use the other beds. Sensei just stepped out for a bit," Ryouko called. She thought that another student came in for a rest but she was surprised when the person pushed the drapes of her bed aside.
Ryoma stood before her with a small canister on one hand. "Yo," he said but avoided eye contact.
"Yo," she greeted back. "What brings you here? Do you feel sick?" she asked.
"I didn't know," he said, still averting his eyes from hers. "Food intolerance... Is it really not severe?" he asked. His tone sounded nothing special but Ryouko knew better.
"He did overhear..." she thought.
"No need to stress over it. It's only mild. I'll be fine after resting," she told him.
Ryoma suddenly walked towards the side of the bed and sat down on the chair placed there. He opened the canister in his hand and poured an amber-colored liquid on the canister's cover designed to serve as an improvised cup.
"Here," he said and handed her the cup.
Ryouko knew the familiar smell and hid a smile.
"Chamomile tea, it helps with stomach pain," Ryoma said.
Ryouko had heard the familiar lines before. It came from her own mouth.
When they were little, Ryoma ate some bad berries when they were out exploring in the woods and he suffered from stomach pains for a whole night. Ryouko stayed over in their house and served him chamomile tea every two hours during the sleepless night.
"Why always this?" seven-year-old Ryoma complained. He was getting tired of the taste.
"It's chamomile tea, it helps with stomach pain. You can't eat anything rich, just porridge, water, tea and bananas. That's what Grandpa Suzuki taught me," young Ryouko answered.
Sure enough, by the next day, Ryoma felt no signs of discomfort in his tummy. "Your chamomile tea worked," he told Ryouko with a childish grin.
Ryouko drank a mouthful and savored the flavor of the tea. "Thanks," she said and gestured for him to give her seconds.
"Nevermind," he said, pouring more tea into the cup. "But you should've said something. I would've eaten it instead if I knew you have problem eating salsa," he pointed out and looked a bit sulky. "There was no rule indicating that we can't switch dips. As long as we eat three takoyaki each, we could clear the obstacle without causing harm to anyone."
Ryouko gave a simper. "You do use your head sometimes..." she commented.
"Stop it," Ryoma said, narrowing his eyes at her threateningly.
"I'm just joking, don't be so serious," she replied.
"Your health isn't something to joke over. You should take it seriously. What if food intolerance can turn to allergy? What if that happened?" he reprimanded her.
"Food intolerance is food intolerance. Allergy is allergy. They're separate things. Trust me, I read on the topic after finding out that I have food intolerance," she told him.
"Yea, whatever, smart-ass..." he said, rolling his eyes. "But really..." he added, sounding serious once again. "Don't do that again."
Ryouko finished her second cup of tea. "As you command, my lord," she said, turning on her Marian mode.
This made Ryoma smile a bit and he handed her the canister. "You don't have to return to the café if you still feel uncomfortable. I'll take over your shift."
"Don't be such a goose. I'll go back after resting for another twenty minutes. Tell them to get my dress ready," she said.
The day ended with them busily tending to the class booth. If it was possible, they became even busier after the pageant's elimination round. People were eager to steal a glance at the freshmen duo that made everyone's hearts flip and tingle during the relay race earlier.
They had rehearsals afterwards and Mami was very happy at the progress they are making. They actually manage to get one love scene right. Mami almost cried and said that it must be because of the switching and the two leads trying to understand each other's role.
Back to current time, Ryouko finished her milk and two loaves of whole wheat bread. She brushed her teeth again, went back to bed and settled under the covers. She spent the first few minutes just staring at the dark ceiling.
Ryoma was right. If she doesn't tell her, he wouldn't know; about the food intolerance or about what she's trying to accomplish regarding her astraphobia.
The events of that afternoon didn't exactly clear out their fight from last week. They haven't made up completely. Ryoma would still shoot his mouth off if she even mentions trying to forcefully drive out her astraphobia.
Perhaps if she would explain, he would agree to listen. And if both of them agree not to get angry while explaining things to each other, perhaps it would work out. Besides, she's tired of being at war with Ryoma. Who cares if it was her who would surrender first? Her friendship with Ryoma should weigh more than her pride.
"Tomorrow..." she mumbled under her breath. "Grab the right timing and talk to him sincerely tomorrow. Alone, without any disturbances," she said.
With her heart and mind set on that goal, she finally drifted to a deep sleep.
~~~
At 11 o'clock, Ayase Mami was still grinning like an idiot. First phase of her plan went successfully well, coming out in flying multi-colors. She could be found on her bed, looking over the accounting notebook of their class booth. She giggled evilly over the satisfying numbers on the first page, the earnings of the café on the first day. Anyone who would peek through her door might mistake her for a lunatic planning somebody's murder.
She reached over and unearthed something from her under her pillow. It was a small notebook filled with stickers. She opened it and took out a list slipped inside the pages.
There are a bunch of checkboxes with phrases or sentences right beside each. On the very top, 'Sign them up in the School's Cultural Fest Pageant' is written.
Mami placed a check mark on the first box and looked at the second one in the list.
'Lock them inside the equipment room for two hours: clichéd and ripped off from shoujo mangas but guaranteed 99.9% success rate'
Mami chuckled maniacally, her expression akin to an unhinged weirdo and anticipated the next step of her plan. She took a last swig from the carton of milk on her bedside table before turning the lights off.
While Mami is peacefully entering dreamland, we zoom in to the carton of milk that she just finished. The expiration date was a week ago.
If PE uniforms are like this *point above* in the Philippines, I'll probably start a petition.
That pic above is a fan. I want it. 😭
Well... the time for the reconciliation that everyone is looking for is near- err...
Or maybe not exactly. 😅
Ayase Mami's scheme wouldn't go exactly as she wanted and she gets into a bit of a personally embarrassing situation to pull off her manipulative powers. A little accident happens while her plan Operation Lock-the-two-blockheads-in-the-equipment-room-shoujo-manga-cliche commenced during the second day of the festival.
*gasp* What can possibly go wrong? 😱😱
Tune in for the next chappy! Hope you enjoyed reading!