Heya, thanks for the comments and reads and thank you folks.
@kuro_808: At the moment they're respecting each other, ofc. XD
@bunny_rabbit: HAHAHA, this is actually my imagination on N-Tako at first but somehow it fits Karen and Naachan as Naachan really likes Karen haha :lol:
So... here I am with a dialogue OS. At first I had no idea which pairing I should use but in the end it fits this one pairing somehow. As much as I wanted to avoid using super popular mainstream pairing, I don't think there's any other pairing may fit this OS better than them haha.
Here I present an Atsumina dialogue. :grin:
Red is Takamina; Black is Acchan.
-------------------------------
Complexity
Ain't I enough for you?
I'm never yours to begin with,
And you're never mine either way.
Were all the time we have spent together lies?
There were times they were.
There were times they weren't.
Am I just fooling myself with you?
Maybe you are.
Why?
Because you could never be mine at all.
Do you know it?
Do I know it?
Perhaps all this time you are the one
Who tell lies to me.
If all the time we were together was just a lie,
Then tell me why does my heart ache like this?
Why won't these tears stop falling?
Because there is no way we can ever be together.
And I know that you know it.
Nothing can stop me from reaching out to you.
Even if I no longer exist in this world?
You will still exist
within the memories we created together.
How can you be so sure?
Because I love you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments and critics are openly welcomed :thumbup
Regarding updates on Virgin Love, I'd like to apologize as it will surely be delayed. I have final exam for the semester and I'm preparing for my internship but hopefully I can work on it during my internship LOL. :rofl:
I'm too lazy for greetings at the moment so... Boobs K(C)leavae Boobs! B. K. B.!! HIYEEEEEEEEAHHH~!!!! *is whacked*
@Cometerz48: heh :v
@everyday48: I'm glad it made you laugh haha. Thanks XD
@kuro_808: Oh yeah we really do. And I'd appreciate NMB fics too. :wub:
So yeah I'm finally done with THAT ChiiNatsu fic LOL. Took me months to finish the story then few more weeks for my friend to proofread it. I was inspired by the song with the same title, though something took over me when I wrote it and it got longer than I had expected. :panic:
I'd like to thank Deukie (a.k.a. LoyalFlutist) for every motivational words given early in the process, without you this story would've ended as a mere draft haha.
And then kuro_808 for patiently waiting. DUDE IT'S FINALLY DONE. :w00t:
And lastly to my innocent (but not really) friend who helped with the proofreading and smacked my pride to the bottom of the sea lol. Thank you for finishing the edit despite of all the complains about the length of the fic and also my rusty grammar skill :grin:
Here I present you, the longest OS I've ever written.
---
(http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp226/KuroiYuki88/Creation/onlytoday.jpg)
*note: everything in italic indicates flashbacks
“Moshi moshi. Chihiro?”
“Moshi moshi. Yes, Natsu?”
“I'm sorry for the sudden request but... Do you have time tomorrow?”
“I do. Why?”
“You know, it's been a long time since we hung out with just the two of us. Do you wanna go out for a walk with me tomorrow?”
“...Sure. What time?”
“I'll wait for you at 1PM. How is it?”
“Okay, 1PM. Where should we meet?”
“The usual station.”
“Okay. Can't wait.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Matsuoka Natsumi heaved a sigh as he hung up the call. He threw himself to the bed and blankly stared at the ceiling as he asked himself why he called Chihiro and asked her for a date. She had always been his close friend but he already had a girlfriend. He knew it wasn't right to do it behind her back but he couldn't help himself. Not after he found out what his close friend felt for him all this time.
---
“Nee, Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
“If you have to choose between Madoka and me to be your girlfriend, who will you choose?”
Natsu chuckled. “What are you saying, Chihiro?”
“Nevermind, I was just kidding.” She put on a smile, trying to assure her friend that it was only a joke.
“I wonder who I would choose…”
She turned her head to see him looking at the sky, seriously considering her question.
“Nah, it's okay. You don't have to answer it.”
Natsu looked down and smiled as he turned to look at Chihiro. He cupped her chin with his fingers then raised her face and gazed into her eyes. His action made Chihiro's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't take her eyes off his gaze.
“You're cute, Chihiro.”
The seriousness in his words surprised Chihiro, and she could feel her face heating up as he slowly closed the gap between them. She was wondering what he was going to do when he stopped midway, grinned and pinched her plump, blushing cheeks.
“Itaii!”
Chihiro rubbed her cheeks and felt slightly disappointed. ‘What did I just expect him to do?,' she thought.
Natsu noticed the change in her mood. “What's with the frown on your face?”
“It hurts.” Chihiro pouted, trying to divert his--and her own--attention.
“I can't help, they look so inviting.” He patted her head and smiled apologetically.
“Mou…”
Natsu looked at his watch. “Ah, it's time. Don't you have cram school today?”
“I do.”
“Then I'll walk you there.”
He stood up then grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Thanks.”
Natsu started walking but Chihiro stood still and watched his back before she called him.
“Nee, Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Natsu let out a smile and grabbed her hand. “Jaa, let's go.”
Chihiro just couldn't say it. She didn't want to ruin their friendship. She was afraid that if she blurted out her real feelings to him, he couldn't accept it and would start distancing himself from her. It was the last thing she wanted.
---
“It's Madoka's piano concour tomorrow. Are you going?”
“Yeah. You aren't?”
“I can't. I have my university entrance test.”
“I see…”
“Please tell Madoka I'm sorry.”
“I'm sure she'll understand.”
Natsu had no idea that it has been a few weeks since the last time Chihiro talked to Madoka. Everything became a mess between the two when Madoka confronted Chihiro on her feelings for Natsu. It turns out that Madoka also had feelings for him and asked her to make up her mind to confess or not confess to Natsu.
“If you don't confess, I will when I win the concour.”
When Chihiro heard those words from Madoka, her shoulders slumped hard. She knew Madoka would certainly win the concour, being a piano prodigy trained on the instrument since she was a child. Her only option was to confess, but she would rather give up her feelings than to damage the friendship between the three of them even more.
---
“Hey, Anai-san.”
Chihiro turned her head to see the one who called her.
“Ah, Kodama-kun.”
Kodama Haruka smiled at the response and walked to her seat. He could feel his heart jumping excitedly as it was the first time he talked to her with just the two of them after they became classmates in their third year.
“It's rare to see you going home alone. Where's Matsuoka-san? Or Moriyasu-san?”
Chihiro froze when she heard the names, but resumed to prepare to go home as she replied nonchalantly. “They have their own business.”
The answer made a smile appeared on his face so he took a deep breath to calm himself. “Then... May I accompany you for today?”
“...Sure.”
When Chihiro stood up from her seat next to the window, she saw Natsu and Madoka pass by the schoolyard. She could feel a thud in her heart from looking at the two. She couldn't blame anyone but herself, because it was what she had chosen.
“Anai-san?”
“Y-yes?”
“Nothing. Let's go.”
---
From that day on, Kodama-kun, who Chihiro had now begun referring to as Haru instead, always walked her home whenever Natsu went home with Madoka. Chihiro felt like she found a cure to her pained heart with Haru's cheerfulness.
But she knew it was just temporary. Every single time she saw Natsu with Madoka, even just by chance, she looked away and tried to keep her tears from falling down. The longer the time passed, the more painful it became for her heart. Eventually Haru noticed it. One day, when Natsu apologetically excused himself to leave earlier with Madoka who was staring at Chihiro, Haru asked Chihiro to stay in the class.
“Chihiro…”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you about something?”
“....Sure?”
“Have you ever liked someone?”
Chihiro was surprised by the question and was speechless. Haru, not waiting for her answer, continued.
“I met a girl I like. She was best friend with a boy in her class. I always thought there was nothing between them aside from friendship so I tried to approach her. Gradually she warmed up to me.”
Chihiro took a glance at Haru, who was considering his next words.
“But little did I know that she had fallen for her best friend long before. When he dated her friend, she must have been sad but kept the pain to herself. The sight pained me. I wanted her to forget him. I'd do anything to make her happy…”
Haru heaved a sigh and let out a sad smile. “In the end, I could made her smile, but I couldn't erase the sadness that kept surfacing on her eyes every time she saw the couple together.”
He extended his hands to hold Chihiro's and took a deep breath.
“I wish I could just ask you out but I know I have no chance to win over your heart against Matsuoka-san right now. Am I right, Chihiro?”
Chihiro raised her head and met Haru's gaze. Before she knew it, her tears fell down. Every single beads of tears she had been holding all this time.
“How could you tell everything?”
Haru raised one of his hand to wipe the tears flowing on Chihiro's cheeks with his thumb. He kept his gaze at her eyes.
“Because I like you, Chihiro. I'm always watching you.”
“I'm sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Haru took out his handkerchief, wiping Chihiro's tears as he waited for the stream to dry. Without them knowing, Natsu was standing outside the classroom. He lied to Madoka, telling her to wait for him at the school gate as he went to toilet but he didn't. He had been there listening since Haru confessed to Chihiro. He felt guilt creeping into his heart when she started crying as Haru revealed her true feelings.
“Chihiro…”
When Chihiro was finally done letting out her frustration, she was flushing red from embarrassment.
“I'm sorry you have to see me like this.”
“It's okay.”
“Thank you, Haru.”
“Don't mention it.”
The scene left Natsu feeling frustrated, and he exasperatedly slumped down to the floor as he wondered what he could do. He had never known that Chihiro held any special feelings for him. He covered his face with his palm, cursing himself for not being able to see it. It was a while until he realized his phone was vibrating from a call--obviously from Madoka.
“What took you so long?”
“Sorry, I'm heading back now.”
Natsu stood up and snuck out, hoping that Chihiro and Haru wouldn't notice him. Somehow he made it to the gate where Madoka waited without the two in the class realizing.
“I'm sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Madoka's pout turned into slight smile. “Let's go.”
They started walking away, and Madoka noticed how Natsu quiet was after he came back. She wanted to ask him if anything happened, but she decided to let it slide for the time being. She grabbed his hand tightly, as if to claim him as hers only.
She thought, “I will be fine as long as he's with me.”
---
“Can't wait.”
As Chihiro hung up the call, she came to realize that Natsu just asked her for a date.
“Why now, Natsu…”
It had been a couple of weeks since Haru confessed to her, and despite of the ambiguity in her response, he kept her accompanied. She still remembered what he said that day.
“I want to heal your heart.”
And just when Chihiro started to get over Natsu and got closer to Haru, the date invitation came so sudden. She didn't know why but she messaged Haru to tell him about it.
“Natsu just asked me to go out with him tomorrow.”
Chihiro put her phone away and covered her eyes with her arm--letting her mind wander. She really wondered why Natsu suddenly asked her out. Not too long later, a reply from Haru arrived:
“Are you going?”
Chihiro looked at the message and let out a sad smile. “I'm sorry, Haru…”
Haru anxiously waited for the answer, only to be upset when she told him that she had accepted Natsu's invitation. He realized that she still had feelings for the other guy, even though he had made progress in reaching for her heart. He heaved a sigh. “Nee, Chihiro… do I really have no chance against him?”
---
It was the next day; Chihiro had been wide awake since the previous night. She couldn't sleep due to constantly wondering why Natsu had asked her out.
Before she knew it, the time to get up was closing in, so she rose from her bed and washed her face to refresh herself. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed dark shadows under her eyes--the result of failing to sleep last night. She let go of a sigh and went on preparing herself for what seemed to be a date.
Meanwhile, Natsu arrived early and waited for Chihiro's arrival. He was also unable to sleep, and figured it would be better for him to come earlier. He looked at his watch.
“Twelve thirty, huh…”
He decided to fill his waiting time by browsing the photo gallery on his phone. He scrolled through them, noticing that there were a lot of photos with Madoka. He really hadn't been spending time with Chihiro lately, with Madoka keeping him by her side all time.
He kept scrolling until he found a photo of Chihiro he secretly took during the school trip. She was gazing at the scenery when he took the photo, and he thought she looked so serene in it.
“Beautiful…”
“Who is?”
Natsu was startled by the sudden appearance of Chihiro. He quickly covered his phone screen and locked it--hoping that she didn't see what he was looking at.
“It's a secret.” He smiled, trying to cover it up--but it made her sad somehow.
“Ah, must be Madoka, right…”
“No! In fact…” Natsu stopped before he finished his words, making Chihiro confused.
“...In fact?”
Natsu shook his head and just smiled. “Nevermind.”
He took her hand and hold it tight. “Let's board the train.”
Chihiro glanced at their linked hands before looking back at Natsu's face. She knew her heart skipped a beat when he grabbed her hand.
She nodded and tried to look enthusiastic. “Yeah!”
As they sat in the train, both of them went into silence as they tried to find something to talk about. Natsu was still holding Chihiro's hand tight and it made Chihiro felt uneasy. She glanced to the side and found Natsu looking at her.
“N-natsu?”
“Hmm?”
“Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
“Then why you keep staring at me?”
“Because you're cute.”
Chihiro felt the heat rise to her cheeks, but she didn't want to set her expectations too high so she looked away. Again, silence filled them until they arrived at their destination.
“Chihiro?”
Natsu took a glance to his side, realizing that Chihiro had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He tucked her hair behind her ear gently and smiled, as he whispered softly into her ear;
“Chihiro, wake up. We've arrived.”
Chihiro slowly opened her eyes. It took a short while before she realized that she had fallen asleep on Natsu's shoulder. She quickly sat straight and apologized to him.
“I'm sorry!”
Natsu just smiled and patted her head. “It's okay.”
Chihiro let out a smile, but she was confused by the way Natsu treated her. ‘Don't make me get my hopes up, Natsu,’ she sadly thought.
Natsu stood up and kept her hand held tight. “Then let's go to the beach!”
There wasn't many people at the beach Natsu chose and he felt somewhat grateful, even though he had no idea how this trip would end up.
“Natsu, I…”
Natsu could feel the uneasiness surrounding Chihiro, and he could understand why. He put his finger on her lips and shook his head.
“Hush…”
Chihiro blushed and her heart beat really fast, but she was still unsure if it was a good idea to go out with Natsu after all.
“But Natsu, what if Madoka…”
Natsu held her by the shoulders. “Let's forget everything for one day and enjoy this special occasion.”
He then pulled his phone from his pocket and switched the profile to flight mode.
“Now, no one will disturb us today.”
Chihiro stared at Natsu with disbelief. She wondered what had gotten into him.
“Natsu, I must be dreaming, right?”
Natsu let out a grin and pinched her cheeks.
“Itaii!!”
“See? It's real, so you should stop worrying and enjoy this time.”
Hearing Natsu's words, Chihiro became a bit relaxed. Nevertheless, there was a hint of sadness when she smiled.
“Just this one day... Isn't it…”
“Yeah…”
Natsu took her hand as they walked slowly along the shore line.
“So... How has it been going?”
“What is?”
“We haven't been talking for a long time, have we? I just wanna know how are you doing.”
Chihiro felt Natsu's grip tighten. It was as if he felt guilty for not spending time with her. She looked down and answered him.
“Life's good.”
“I see…”
They walked side-by-side in silence, and Natsu was thinking what more to say when Chihiro took off her sandals and handbag before she dragged him closer to the water.
“Since we're here, why don't we play a bit?”
“Well, I'm fine with that, but I'm telling you I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”
“Neither did I.”
Natsu chuckled. “Silly.”
Chihiro smiled. She missed this. Missed playing around with him. Missed being with him.
“Don't blame if you get a little wet then!”
“Kyaa!”
She was unprepared when Natsu splashed the water at her. It wasn't much, but enough to make her jump back a bit. She splashed Natsu back for a revenge, but he managed to avoid her attack.
“Uh-uh, you're not gonna get me wet, girl.”
They laughed heartily as they splashed at each other. They weren't bothered by how drenched they had become. A while later, they were finally exhausted from playing in the water.
“Oh man, what should we do now?"
Natsu looked down and observed his drenched clothes. He then raised his head to check out Chihiro's, feeling his eyes seeming to bulge out of their sockets--he could see her bra through her wet blouse!
“Erm, Chihiro?” Natsu could feel the heat on his face as he looked away and took off his blazer, handing it to Chihiro. “Wear this.”
“Why?”
Chihiro was oblivious to her own condition, tilting her head in confusion, so Natsu had no choice but to make her wear his blazer before telling her the reason.
“Your blouse…”
She looked down and finally noticed how drenched her blouse was. It caused her to blush from the realization that Natsu could see what she wore underneath the blouse.
“T-thank you, Natsu.”
“D-don't mention it. Now we should think how to clean ourselves and dry our clothes.”
They walked and found an inn near the beach. It said it had an onsen facility, so they decided to check in there.
“Unfortunately there’s only one room left at the moment, sir, miss. Are you okay with that?”
Chihiro looked at Natsu. “What should we do?”
Natsu just smiled politely at the innkeeper. “Sure, please show us the way.”
Chihiro couldn't believe what she just heard from Natsu. Didn't it mean that they would spend a night together in the same room??
“Natsu, are you sure it's really okay?”
Natsu gulped but he told Chihiro regardless. “Trust me.”
His answer didn't really assure her, but she had no choice. He grabbed her hand as the innkeeper showed them the way to the room. Before the innkeeper left, she gave each of them a yukata for use after the bath.
“Please enjoy your time here,” said the innkeeper with a smile on her face.
Again, Natsu replied politely. “Thank you.”
When Chihiro observed the room, she was shocked when she saw that the innkeeper had prepared a futon for a couple. She could feel that the heat was rising up to her head and her cheeks were flushed. She turned her head to see Natsu biting his lower lips, his face reddened a little as well.
“N-natsu…”
“I-it's okay. Let's take a bath and wash our clothes first.”
Natsu tried to be calm, and hoped that Chihiro didn't put too much thinking into it. As they walked into the onsen, Natsu reminded himself again.
“I can control myself. I have to.”
After they were back from their relaxing bath in the onsen--separated between male and female, of course--their dinner had already been prepared on the table.
“Looks delicious.”
“Let's eat.”
Chihiro sat down carefully, so as not to expose too much of her skin. She had her clothes laundered, even the undergarments, so she basically wore nothing but the inn yukata at the moment. She could only hope Natsu didn't notice it.
Sitting across her, Natsu tried not to think much about how they were clothed, as he was also wearing only yukata above his bare body. He hoped Chihiro didn't pay much attention to it.
They ate their dinner and when they were done, they called the innkeeper to clean the table. As they waited for the innkeeper to finish with the cleaning, Natsu took a glance at Chihiro--accidentally catching a glimpse of her cleavage under her yukata. He quickly looked away, before she realized that he was blushing. ‘Stupid me,’ he thought. ‘Why did I even glance there?!’
“S-so what should we do now?”
Chihiro's voice startled him. “A-ah, what should we do?”
Chihiro couldn't shake away her nervousness, with just the two of them in the room. She could tell that Natsu wasn't really comfortable with the situation, either.
“M-maybe we should just sleep.”
“I-I guess so.”
They were moving to the futon, when Natsu stopped as he was reminded about the futon.
“C-chihiro?”
“Yes?”
“Maybe I should just sleep somewhere else.”
“I-it's okay.” Chihiro’s eyes met Natsu’s as she said, “I trust you.”
‘I’m the one who can't trust myself anymore,’ Natsu thought in his mind.
Chihiro looked at Natsu's troubled face. She felt awkward about their situation, but Natsu was still her best friend after all. She didn't want him to get sick because of her, so she worked up the courage to drag him along to the futon--only to accidentally trip on her own foot, the two of them ending up on the futon with her kneeling just above him.
“C-chihiro?!”
Natsu was surprised by the sudden close proximity between him and Chihiro. He could feel the heat on his face rising. It became even worse when he noticed her cleavage peeking from behind her yukata, which she seemed to be oblivious about. His eyes kept on switching from her face to her chest, and he gulped as he was unsure whether to extend his hand and fix her yukata or let it be.
Chihiro, on the other hand, was frozen in position and had no idea what she should do next. She never thought that the accident would bring them to this awkward position. When she realized how close their faces were to each other, her cheeks became as red as tomato.
Both of them couldn't take their eyes off of each other. Natsu extended his hand to reach for Chihiro's face, but halted halfway as she was finally snapped back to reality.
“Natsu, I'm sorry!”
Chihiro quickly escaped from the awkward scene and moved onto her corner of the futon--giving Natsu her back. Her heart still beat so fast she could only hope it wouldn't kill her.
“O-oyasumi.”
Natsu stared at Chihiro’s back and heaved a sigh. He felt a bit disappointed on one side, but on the other side he felt rather relieved. He knew he would have lost control of himself if Chihiro didn’t move out of that position.
He turned the light off, lied himself down at his corner of futon, and turned his back against her. “Oyasumi.”
---
It had been a couple of hours since Natsu tried to sleep. He was sleep-deprived, but he just couldn’t fall asleep knowing Chihiro was sleeping so close to him. He changed his position to face her and whispered.
“Chihiro?”
There was no response from the other side, so he assumed that she was asleep. Little did he know, she was also unable to fall asleep. She kept her back facing Natsu to pretend that she was sleeping.
“Thanks for coming along today.” Natsu whispered.
Chihiro opened her eyes while still keeping her back to Natsu. She wanted to face Natsu, but she thought to wait until he finished what he wanted to say.
“I’m sorry that we barely hang out together lately.”
Chihiro bit her lips. She braced herself and turned to face him, surprising him to find out that she was listening.
“C-chihiro…”
“You don’t have to say sorry.”
“But I…”
Chihiro shook her head. “It was my choice.”
Natsu was confused. “Eh?”
Chihiro looked down as she tried to hold her tears from flowing. When she was at her limit, she tried to turn away before Natsu could notice, but he stopped her, holding onto her shoulder.
“Nee, Chihiro... Why?”
Chihiro turned to face Natsu again as her tears were threatening to fall. “What do you want, Natsu?”
"Do you like me?”
“I like you... as a friend.”
Natsu could feel her shoulder shaking as she spoke with a trembling voice, so he asked her.
“Is it the truth you’re telling me?”
Chihiro couldn't say a thing. Her eyes were teary as she stared at him.
When Natsu saw Chihiro’s teary state, he suddenly felt like hating himself. He wasn’t sure what to do, or even what to say to Chihiro.
“Chihiro, I…”
Chihiro shook her head weakly. “Please don’t say anything…”
Natsu couldn’t stand it anymore. He pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly as he apologized.
“I’m sorry…”
His action shocked Chihiro, and she could no longer hold back the stream of tears that had been threatening to fall. She hid her face on Natsu's chest as she weeped.
"Why are you doing this, Natsu?"
"I..."
Natsu asked himself. Why was he doing it all? What did he want to achieve from it?
"I don't know either, Chihiro."
When Chihiro heard that, she lifted her head to look Natsu in the eyes, but stopped halfway.
"Natsu..."
“Hmm?”
“I…”
Chihiro halted before she could finish. She still felt that it wasn’t right to confess to him, with him still being Madoka’s boyfriend. Even when both of them were literally so close to each other.
“Chihiro, look at me.”
Chihiro still kept her head down as she shook her head.
“Tell me what you wanted to say.”
“I can’t, Natsu. I can’t.”
"Why not?"
"Because once I say it, there'll be no way back for me!!"
Natsu could understand her reason, but that didn't stop him from putting his hand on her chin and raising her head to let her eyes met his.
“Look at me, Chihiro.”
When Chihiro braced herself, she saw the determined look in Natsu’s eyes.
“Just say it, Chihiro.”
Chihiro bit her lip, before letting out a sad smile.
“I love you, Natsu. I always have.”
When Natsu heard her confession at last, he let out a relieved smile and embraced her tight.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Chihiro saw his smile, and it made her regret her own decision of letting Madoka confess. She slowly moved her arms and rested them on his back, tightening the embrace. Her sudden initiative surprised Natsu, but it made him somewhat glad. He smiled as he nuzzled against her hair, enjoying the moment for all it was worth.
“Nee, Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
“Can we stay like this as we sleep?”
“Sure.”
‘Only today,’ Chihiro sadly thought to herself before they both fell asleep.
---
The sun was already up high when Natsu awoke from his sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, and noticed that Chihiro was still sleeping soundly--and that they were still cuddling. He smiled and gently ran his hand through her hair but, his smile didn’t last long when he came into realization of the condition of their clothes. He glanced down and saw her cleavage peeking behind her loosened yukata, fully dawning on him how close to naked they both were. He tried to keep his cool despite all the heat gathering on his body, but it was difficult as he could feel Chihiro’s breast on his chest. He tried to distance himself from her slowly, but his attempt failed with Chihiro tightening her embrace in her sleep. Natsu took a deep breath before letting out a sigh. He decided to just resign to his fate, and waited until she woke up.
When Chihiro finally woke up, Natsu let out a relieved sigh and greeted her with an awkward smile.
“Ohayou, Chihiro.”
Chihiro was shocked when she heard that voice. She had forgotten that she had fallen asleep in Natsu’s embrace..
"O-ohayou, Natsu."
"Y-you know, Chihiro, it feels really good hugging you, but..."
Chihiro blushed with embarrassment when she heard it. And even more when Natsu pointed out their situation.
"You know very well that we both wear nothing underneath, and it’s possible to get a little bit out of hand under this situation, right?"
His words snapped her back to reality as she quickly released herself from the cuddle and rose from the futon, covering her chest with her arms. She noticed that Natsu's face was also flushing red, and he looked away from her as he slowly sat up.
“I'm sorry, Natsu."
“That was dangerous, you know.”
‘Yes, a very dangerous situation there,’ Natsu thought, knowing that she might feel something weird about him “down there.”
He stood up and noticed that their cleaned clothes had been delivered.
“Hey, we can change back into our clothes.”
The thought of being able to change back into her own clothes made Chihiro feel relieved, but another problem arose. Both of them looked at each other with the same thing in their mind. How should they change clothes in the same room?
“I-I guess I'll wait outside.”
Natsu voluntarily got up to walk out of the room, but Chihiro grabbed his hand and stopped him.
“B-but you are…” She couldn’t say that he, just like her, didn’t wear anything underneath and her face was flushing red from the embarrassment from the thought. Natsu noticed it, and smiled awkwardly as he rubbed her head.
“It’s okay. I’m a guy after all.”
When Natsu was outside the room, he let go a sigh.
“I guess I should use the toilet to finish my business for now.”
---
“Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
“What will we be after all this?”
“What do you want us to be?”
Both of them sat side-by-side quietly in the train, thinking of how they should answer their own questions. Chihiro rested her head on Natsu's shoulder and heaved a sigh. She certainly didn't expect herself to confess to him, much less to do so in such an intimate situation. Even more shocking to her was how positive his response was. Ever since they boarded the train, she was occupied with her own thought--until she heard the fake shutter sound of a phone camera and realized that Natsu was snapping a photo of her.
“What are you doing?”
A smile appeared on his face. “Capturing memories.”
Chihiro blushed. “But you only take photos of me. I wanna take photos of you, too.”
Natsu chuckled and teased her. “Oh? I have no problem with that.”
Chihiro took her phone out her bag and smiled as she stuttered with her words. “T-then how about taking photo of us together?”
Natsu's grin grew wider. “Good idea.”
They took a couple of photos together before looking through them.
“This one looks nice.”
“This one, too.”
Natsu glanced at Chihiro, who was looking at the photos with a smile on her face.
“Nee, Chihiro…”
“Hmm?”
“If I ask you to be my girlfriend now, will you accept it?”
Chihiro was stiffened from the sudden question. She faced Natsu with a look of disbelief.
“What about Madoka?”
“I'll break up with her.”
Chihiro felt the seriousness in Natsu's gaze when he said those words, but she couldn't help it when guilt crept into her heart.
“But…”
Natsu let go a sigh and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry, let's just leave it at that for now.”
They were engulfed by awkward silence until they arrived at the station. When Natsu raised from the seat, he noticed that Chihiro looked troubled and he knew that the question he had asked her was occupying her mind at the moment.
“Chihiro?”
Natsu’s voice snapped Chihiro back to reality. “Yes?”
“Let’s go.”
Again, he grabbed her by the hand and gently dragged her. As they dropped off the train, Natsu was about to release Chihiro’s hand, but found that it was being held by her.
“Natsu, I…”
Chihiro hesitated. She looked down and bit her lip before she let her eyes met his.
“I wished I had confessed to you before Madoka did.”
She stood on tiptoe and landed a peck on Natsu’s cheek. Her face was reddening from her own action. She released herself from him and ran a short distance, before she turned her back and smiled at him.
“Thanks for yesterday. See you tomorrow.”
Natsu couldn’t believe what had just happened. He touched his cheek and he could feel the heat on his face. He stared at Chihiro's back as he murmured her name.
“Chihiro…”
Somewhere further away from Natsu and Chihiro, without them knowing, Madoka had witnessed the scene between the two that just occurred. She was stunned.
“Natsu was with... Chihiro!?”
---
"Moshi moshi."
"Madoka?"
"It's me."
"Do you have time this afternoon?"
"I do. Why?
"We need to talk."
“Is it important?”
“...Yes.”
Madoka could sense an urgency in Natsu's voice as he was speaking. She could guess where the phone call was going, and didn't like it, but she agreed to meet him anyway.
“Okay. Where?”
“The usual cafe. 4PM.”
After Natsu hung up, Madoka threw her phone and herself on the bed. She couldn't think of any reason why he needed to meet her, other than to break up with her, especially after what she had seen between him and Chihiro in the morning.
‘Chihiro,' she thought in jealousy. She took her phone again and typed a message.
“I will never give Natsu to you.”
---
“Ohayo, Haru.”
“Ohayo, Chihiro.”
The day was still early when they met in front of the school gate and walked together to class. Haru glanced at Chihiro, his head full of thoughts regarding her meeting with Natsu.
“So… How was the meeting with Natsu?”
He noticed that she immediately turned as red as tomato when he brought the topic. She replied to the question with a shy smile on her blushing face.
“It went… well.”
“...I see.”
Haru felt a thud in his heart. ‘What did I expect?,' he thought.
Chihiro was flushed from the memories of Natsu’s warmth as they embraced each other, but another thought invaded her mind. She was reminded of the message she got from Madoka. She wondered what had caused the other girl to send her such a message all of sudden. Did Natsu really break up with her? Immediately after he told her that he would?
“Nee, Chihiro…”
Chihiro was brought back from her thoughts by Haru’s voice, prompting her to look at him.
“Yes?”
“So… are you and Natsu…”
“Me and Natsu?”
“Are you two dating now?”
“No.”
“I see.”
‘Not yet,' a small voice inside Chihiro’s head added. She was still torn between accepting Natsu’s proposal and letting him go for the sake of saving her friendship with Madoka, but a part of her started to revolt, wanting to fight for her own chance to be with Natsu.
Chihiro and Haru walked in silence on their way to the class. They had just started performing their duties as the class representatives for the day, when someone came in.
“Ohayo, Chihiro.”
Both Chihiro and Haru turned their heads to the source of sound and saw Natsu standing in front of the class with a smile on his face--clearly directed towards Chihiro.
Chihiro shily greeted back. “O-ohayo, Natsu.”
“Ohayo, Matsuoka-san. Not coming with your girlfriend today?”
Natsu chuckled at the fact that Haru sneered at him. He could sense jealousy from the other boy, knowing that he had feeling for Chihiros and was annoyed that Natsu came earlier than expected. The corner of Natsu’s lips were slightly turned up as he replied.
“None of your business.”
Chihiro glanced at them both in turn uneasily. They glared at each other intensely, as if they wanted to rip holes in each other's necks. The situation made her felt uncomfortable, and she was holding her broomstick tightly as she couldn’t utter any words to break the tension between them.
As if cued by the tension, footsteps could be heard entering the classroom. When Chihiro heard the person's greeting, she nearly jumped.
“Ohayo.”
Madoka glared at Natsu, then Chihiro. It scared Chihiro to death, since she could feel the hate intensely.
"O-ohayo, Madoka."
Madoka ignored Chihiro's greeting as she walked straight to her desk and sat. It made Chihiro's shoulders go slumped. She glanced at Natsu and met his eyes. He slowly moved his lips in silence.
“I will explain later.”
Chihiro nodded slightly to tell Natsu that she understood what he said. She quickly finished her duty and prepared for the day’s subjects.
Meanwhile, Haru observed the lack of interaction between Natsu and Madoka. Questions were running inside his mind as he glanced at Chihiro, who seemed to have recovered from the shock of Madoka's glare earlier.
Soon the class was filled with other students and they weren't the only ones in class anymore. Chihiro took the chance to go to the washroom. After all, she needed to wash her hand clean after the morning’s duties. What she didn't realize was that Madoka was tailing behind her. Chihiro was washing her hand when Madoka entered and locked the door, surprising Chihiro.
“H-hi, Madoka.”
Madoka just stared at her with a stern expression on her face.
“A-anything you need with me?”
Madoka slowly walked closer to Chihiro. It made Chihiro nervous and she unconsciously stepped backward until her back met the wall--making her feel a bit panicked.
“I gave you time to confess before, didn't I.”
Chihiro gulped. “You did.”
Madoka leaned forward, making her look even more intimidating to Chihiro.
“Then tell me…”
“...Yes?”
“What did you do with Natsu?”
The question drained the blood from Chihiro's face. She had been thinking about what she should do if Madoka found out about her trip with Natsu, but she never thought it would come so fast. She was unprepared. She tried to pretend she was oblivious.
“W-what do you mean?”
Her answer made Madoka lean in even closer.
“Care explaining what you did yesterday? And the day before?”
“I-I…”
Chihiro almost blurted out the truth to Madoka but she was saved by a knock on the washroom's door.
“Hey, who is inside? Other people need to fulfill their needs, too!!”
Chihiro felt a little relieved when Madoka retreated and walked away, but what Madoka said before she left stunned Chihiro.
“I saw you in the station. Natsu as well.”
---
“Chihiro, are you okay?”
“I'm okay, Haru.”
“You haven't seemed okay since you came back from the washroom, you know.”
“I'm sorry... but I'm really fine.”
Chihiro let out a smile to reassure Haru that she was fine. She knew she wasn't, but she couldn't let him worry too much.
“Well, if you said so…” Haru shrugged his shoulder and went back to his seat to chat with his friends.
“I'm sorry, Haru…”
Chihiro took a deep breath. What Madoka revealed to her shocked her so much. She wondered if Natsu knew. She looked around the class to search for Natsu but couldn't find him. ‘Maybe he's at the rooftop again,’ she thought. She took out her phone and typed a message to Natsu.
“Skipping class?”
Natsu was relaxing at his usual spot at the rooftop when he received the message from Chihiro. He smiled as he typed the reply message.
“Yeah. Wanna join?”
Chihiro looked at the incoming message and sighed. She glanced to Madoka’s table and saw her busy having a chat with her circle of friends, so she decided to sneak out of the class to go to the rooftop.
When Chihiro arrived at the rooftop, she walked to the spot where Natsu usually waited for her. He was lying down and closing his eyes as if he was sleeping.
“Natsu?”
Chihiro sat down beside Natsu and poked his arm.
“Natsu, are you really sleeping?”
There wasn't any answer coming from him, but she saw his lips arched slightly upward. She leaned closer and pinched his cheeks to wake him up.
“ITAII!”
“Serves you right.”
Natsu rubbed his cheeks to reduce the pain when he saw Chihiro pouting. An idea emerged in his mind about how to tease her.
“I was expecting you to give me a wake up kiss.”
His words made Chihiro blush hard, and she pinched Natsu's cheeks again.
“Natsu ecchi!!”
“Itai itai itai, yes yes I'm sorry!!”
“Hmmph.”
Chihiro turned her back to Natsu, who had risen from his position and sat as he leaned to the wall.
Chihiro mumbled to herself. “I was close to giving it to you.”
Natsu was surprised. “Eh?”
“Never mind.”
The tone in Chihiro's voice made him sure she was embarrassed, so he smiled and leaned closer to her back. He embraced her from behind and nuzzled against her hair as he said,
“You're cute.”
His action made Chihiro's face go as red as tomato, but then she remembered why she came to meet him in the first place. She rubbed his cheek with her palm as she turned to see him.
“Natsu, we need to talk. About Madoka.”
Hearing the name made Natsu release her from his embrace.
“Okay.”
Chihiro took a deep breath before explaining what happened in the washroom to Natsu. She also showed him Madoka's message from the previous day. He looked at the time and noticed.
“So it was sent after I called to meet her…”
“She told me that she saw us at the station.”
“I see.”
“What did you talk about with her when you two met?”
“I asked to break up with her.”
He really did what he said to me, thought Chihiro.
“But she begged me to stay with her. She told me she was leaving for Germany next month and she wanted me to bear with it until that time.”
“Madoka is leaving?”
“That's what she said.”
Chihiro looked down and let go of a sigh. The sight made Natsu felt troubled.
“What should I do?”
“Regardless of what has happened, Madoka is still my friend.”
The thing Chihiro implied from her words made Natsu feel guilty and he shook his head. “But you've sacrificed a lot, Chihiro.”
Tears started forming at the corner of Chihiro's eyes, but she smiled to assure Natsu.
“I will be okay, Natsu. I can always wait.”
Seeing Chihiro's teary eyes despite her smile wrenched Natsu's heart. He pulled her into a hug.
“I'm sorry, Chihiro. I'm really sorry.”
“I will be okay.”
Natsu rubbed the back of her head and planted a kiss on her hair.
“I want to make you happy…”
---
“Do you see Chihiro?”
“Nope.”
Haru was just wondering where Chihiro had gone to, when she walked into the classroom.
“Hey Chihiro!”
“Ah. Hey, Haru.”
Haru wanted to know where she was when she skipped the first class. He looked at her and pondered how he should ask her. That was when he noticed her slightly puffy eyes.
“Chihiro, are you okay?”
Chihiro didn't reply to his question and proceeded to her seat instead. She hung her head low and stared at the table blankly.
Haru couldn't stand being ignored and walked his way to Chihiro's table. He squatted beside her and extended his arm to touch her shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
She glanced at him and forced a smile.
“I am okay.”
Haru didn't want to believe what she told him, but there was something in the way she looked at him that made him feel like she didn't want him to bother. He let out a sigh, before a sad smile formed on his face.
“Well, if you feel like telling, I'm all ears.”
Chihiro only responded with a nod and looked away. It made Haru frustrated, but he respected what she had decided and walked back to his seat even as his mind was loaded with questions.
As Haru left, Chihiro glanced at him and muttered an apology. She knew he would get mad at Natsu for what she told him to do.
At the same time on the rooftop, Natsu lay down on the floor and gazed at the sky. The option that Chihiro gave him made him felt devastated. He didn't want her to be the only one who kept on sacrificing herself. He pulled out his phone from the pocket and typed a message to Haru.
“We have to talk.”
Natsu knew he was being selfish by telling Haru the situation, but he was the only one he could rely on to make Chihiro happy until he could break up with Madoka.
When Haru received the message from Natsu, he narrowed his eyes into a line.
“What do you want?”
It didn't take long before a reply came as Haru's phone buzzed.
“I need to tell you about Chihiro. But don't tell her that I'm telling you.”
‘What the heck is he thinking?,’ thought Haru. He stared at the message on his phone with disbelief. He glanced over to see Chihiro, who was talking with one of their classmates, before typing a reply.
“Fine. Meet me after class is over, behind the gym.”
Haru took a deep breath and released it. He muttered to himself.
“This is all for Chihiro's sake.”
---
“Madoka, I need to take care of something, so can you go home on your own today?”
It took a little while in silence before Madoka said an "okay" to Natsu. He let out a smile and apologized.
“I'm sorry.”
Natsu could tell that Madoka was unhappy with the situation, but he felt relieved that she let it slide. He had no choice but to keep acting like they were still in a relationship.
From her seat, Chihiro stood and glanced over at Natsu. She watched him not leaving with Madoka and wondered why, when she felt someone holding on to her arm.
“Chiichan? Let's go?”
“Ah. Let's go, Aoi-chan.”
As Chihiro left with Aoi, Natsu quickly made his way to the gymnasium, where Haru had been waiting for him with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Let's get straight to the point. What do you want to talk about, Matsuoka?”
“I want you to stay by Chihiro's side for a little longer.”
Haru snorted over the request from Natsu. “I don't need you to tell me that.”
Natsu let out a relieved smile. “Glad to hear that.”
Haru tapped his foot impatiently. “Is that all you want to say? I have basketball practice to attend.”
Natsu stared straight into Haru's eyes as he spoke. “I love Chihiro.”
Haru gritted his teeth. “What do you mean to say by telling me that?”
“I can't be with her. For now.”
Haru grabbed Natsu by the collar and slammed his back to the wall. “If you're doing this just to hurt her in the end, I'm gonna beat you senseless, Matsuoka.”
Natsu flinched from the slight pain, but he didn't budge from the threat. “She knows everything that happened, Kodama.”
Haru's fist rose and he almost launched it to Natsu's face, but he stopped midway and released him.
“Whatever.” Haru turned his back and began to leave. He had already walked few steps before he stopped.
“Mark my words, Matsuoka. I won't forgive you if you hurt Chihiro.”
“I will remember that.”
---
“Nee, Chiichan, you haven't been going home with Madoka-chan. Is there anything wrong?”
Chihiro shook her head. “It's nothing, Aoi-chan.”
Aoi frowned. “I know I’m not as close of a friend as Madoka-chan is to you, but even I can tell that you look troubled lately.”
Her words made Chihiro stop walking. She looked at Aoi and tried to smile to put her worried classmate in ease.
“Thanks for worrying, Aoi-chan, but it's really nothing important.”
Aoi sighed. “I hope you won't end up hurting yourself in the end, Chiichan. Whatever your problem is.”
Again, Chihiro put up a smile, except it was a bitter one.
“I hope so.”
---
Chihiro had just finished with her evening bath when she heard her mom calling for her, saying she had a guest waiting.
“I'm coming.”
She went down the stairs to the living room and was surprised to find Haru sitting quietly as if he was deep in thought..
“Haru?”
Hearing her voice, Haru snapped back to reality. He was thinking of what to say if Chihiro asked him why he visited her, when he noticed her presence.
“Hi…” was the only word came out of his lips. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It was his first time seeing Chihiro in her casual wear--even moreso in her sleepwear--and he thought she looked so adorable.
Chihiro stared at him confusedly. “Is there anything you need?”
Again, her words brought him back to the earth. “I... I was just having a walk when I passed by your home so I thought of paying a visit.”
It was a lame excuse, he knew, but that was the only thing he could think of at that moment. He couldn't tell her how worried he was after he heard Natsu's words earlier that day.
“I... See…”
Chihiro decided to sit down across Haru and waited for him to talk. They spent a few minutes in silence before Haru finally opened his mouth.
“It's getting late, so I guess I should go home.”
He rose from his seat and Chihiro followed suit. His behavior confused her, but she didn't say anything and just accompanied him to the gate.
“See you tomorrow, Chihiro,” said Haru with an awkward smile.
“Take care.”
As Chihiro watched Haru walk away, her cellphone--which she had been holding in her hand--rang. She took a glance at the caller ID and contemplated whether she should pick it up. It was from Natsu. She was still unsure if her love for him was a mutual one, even with all the affection he showered on her after she confessed to him. While she was contemplating, she went back inside her house.
On the other side, Natsu waited for Chihiro to pick up the call. He was ready to hang it up when he finally heard her voice.
“Moshi moshi.”
He took a deep breath and greeted her back. “Moshi moshi, Chihiro.”
There was a long pause in the call with neither of them starting conversation. It took a while before Chihiro spoke up.
“Natsu… Is there anything you want to talk about?”
“I just want to hear your voice.”
His simple tease was enough to made her face heat up. She fanned her face with her free hand to cool it down.
“E-eh?”
He knew her long enough to recognize the tone in her voice and he was sure she was blushing at that moment. He shook his head as he smiled.
“You made me feel like going to your place right away.”
Chihiro was flushed totally red when she heard that and she pouted. “Mou, Natsu.”
“I guess I should really be going there. Only if you want to, though.”
“It's not like I don't want you to come but…”
“But?”
“...It's getting late at night.”
Chihiro couldn't bring herself to say it wasn't right to do this when Natsu was still with Madoka, even if he had asked to break up with her. She could hear him chuckling on the other side.
“Don't worry, I'm a guy.”
“But still…”
“I'm already in front of your house.”
“Eh?!”
Chihiro opened her curtain and looked at the gate, where Natsu stood and waved at her with a smirk on his face. She jumped from her bed and ran down the stairs.
“Natsu!”
“Konbanwa, Chihiro.”
Natsu took a glance on Chihiro's outfit and turned red as he noticed she was wearing a robe above her sleepwear and his mind suddenly played the scene from the inn again.
“Cute," Natsu blurted out in his mind as he covered his mouth and looked away.
It made Chihiro blush, but she shook her head to dismiss the embarrassment. “Why are you here?”
Natsu took a deep breath, stepped forward and rested his arms on the locked gate. He gazed at Chihiro's eyes as he firmly spoke.
“I'm worried about you.”
Chihiro bit her lip at his statement. She let out a sigh before she came closer to Natsu and held his palms inside hers. She could feel how cold his hands were, and rubbed her thumbs on them to give him warmth.
“Your hands are cold.”
“It's okay. Your hands provide enough warmth.”
She released one of her hand to open the gate. “Come in.”
She took his hand and dragged him into her house. As they were inside, she asked him to sit and wait as she took off to prepare some hot chocolate. When she was away, her mom came to the living room to check on the guest.
“Ara, Natsu-kun. Konbanwa.”
Natsu nodded his head and greeted back. “Konbanwa, aunt Wakana.”
“It's been a long time since you visited. How are you?”
“I'm fine, auntie.”
“Where's Chihiro?”
“She said she went to prepare some drinks.”
“I see. Jyaa, I should leave you now. Oyasuminasai, Natsu-kun.”
“Oyasuminasai, aunt Wakana.”
With Chihiro's mom leaving, Natsu waited for Chihiro in the living room by himself. His mind was filled with thoughts when Chihiro entered the room with two glasses of warm chocolate milk.
“Omatase.”
“Thanks.”
Both of them sat in silence as Natsu slowly drank the chocolate milk and Chihiro sat beside him watching.
“Ano ne, Natsu... Do you think it's really okay for us to meet like this? After all, you're still with Madoka.”
Natsu put the glass on the table then grabbed Chihiro's hands. “I'll take care of it if there's anyone saying a word about it.”
“What about Madoka?”
“...” Natsu went into silence as he tried to think of the solution. Chihiro saw his troubled expression when an idea flashed inside her mind.
“I guess we shouldn't meet face to face until then.”
Natsu looked up and stared at Chihiro with a frown forming on his face. “What if I miss you?”
Chihiro giggled. “We're still going to meet at school, Natsu.” She took her phone and shook it in front of his face. “And we have phones.”
“You're right…”
Natsu took a glance at his watch and realized how late it had become. He stood up with an apologetic smile.
“I wanna stay here as long as I can, but I should go now or I'll miss the last train.”
Chihiro accompanied him to the gate with their palms still linked to each other. Once they reached the gate, Natsu turned to look at Chihiro. He raised his free hand and rubbed his palm against her cheek before he leaned down and landed a peck on her forehead.
“Thank you for the warmth, Chihiro.”
With his palm still on her cheek, he could feel the heat catching up to it as her face turned bright red after the sweet peck. It brought a smirk to Natsu's face as he let go of her hand and they parted for the night.
“Oyasumi.”
Chihiro could only stand in awe as Natsu walked away. She touched her forehead as she muttered to herself.
“Can I even hold all these feelings until everything ends…”
---
“Nee, Chihiro, how about we go on a date this Saturday?”
Chihiro was zoning off in her seat in class when she heard Haru and his date invitation. She was surprised that he spoke out of blue.
“Eh?”
Haru took a seat beside hers and faced her with a pout on his face. “We're graduating soon but I still haven't gone on a date with you even once."
“Hmm…” Chihiro was considering to whether to accept or reject the offer when she heard Natsu speak up.
“That’s a nice idea. Can I tag along with Madoka? We can have a double date.”
Madoka, hearing her name mentioned, turned her head in Natsu’s direction. It had been two weeks since Natsu agreed to stay as her boyfriend for a month longer, and what he suggested just now bothered her. She wasn’t stupid and she knew Natsu’s heart was never hers to begin with. She thought that she could sway his heart once they dated, but she couldn't. She took a deep breath and decided to play along with Natsu.
“Is it okay with you two? Kodama-kun? Chihiro?”
Natsu was surprised to hear Madoka agreeing to his idea. He took a glance at the girl who was looking at him with the same questioning look as his, before looking back at Haru.
Haru glared at Natsu, who just replied to his glare with a smirk. He had no idea what the other guy was planning, especially with Madoka tagging along.
The three of them turned to look at Chihiro, asking for her confirmation. She looked at Natsu, then Haru and Madoka, then at Natsu again--who flashed her his smile and gave her a slight nod--before finally agreeing. “O-okay. Let's go for a double date.”
“Yay!”
Haru was happy with the acceptance even though he couldn't help but felt uneasy with the situation turning into a double date with the pair he wanted to avoid. He cast aside the uneasiness for the moment and surprised Chihiro by grabbing her palms.
“I'll make this date the most memorable moment in your life.”
It made Chihiro's heart skip a beat as she noticed how serious Haru's gaze at her was, and she cast her glance away due to the embarrassment. Natsu watched over the scene from his seat and couldn’t help but feel jealous over the situation as he put on a crooked smile to hide his jealousy. He knew how Chihiro felt for him, but he had never asked her what she actually thought about the other guy. He was so absorbed in this thought that he didn't realize that Madoka was walking toward him until she placed her hand softly on his shoulder.
“Natsu, we need to talk.”
---
“Let’s ride the rollercoaster!”
Haru was full of energy for the date as he pointed his finger towards the attraction with great enthusiasm. In contrast to him, Chihiro’s shoulders were stiff as she looked up at the ‘coaster and her face turned pale. She turned to face Haru and shook her head slowly.
“I-I’m sorry, Haru. I really can’t ride that rollercoaster.”
Hearing the startled tone in Chihiro’s voice, Haru turned to her and grabbed her hands. He looked a bit disappointed but gave her a reassuring smile anyways.
“It’s okay. We can still do the other attractions.”
The reassurance brought a little smile to Chihiro’s face, resulting in Haru grinning. The interaction between the two made Natsu jealous as he squeezed the hand linked with his tight.
“Natsu, it hurts.”
The tone in Madoka’s voice when she said that was rather calm, but she still gave Natsu a look when he took a glance at her.
“Sorry.”
They continued to walk around the amusement park while searching for any attractions they could ride. With the thrilling ride being out of question, Haru offered the group the water ride.
“Hmm, how about the log ride?”
He looked at Chihiro as he gently asked, “is it okay with you, Chihiro?”
“I-I think I’m okay with that.”
Chihiro let out a smile to reassure Haru. She was still scared, but she didn’t want the date to be boring for him.
“But won’t we be wet after that?”
Natsu voiced his opinion as he glared at Haru but before Haru could retort, Madoka cut their tension.
“Sounds like a great idea.”
The two boys gave Madoka a surprised look. Chihiro was bewildered by the other girl’s behavior, but she kept silent while glancing at the others.
Madoka chuckled to the reactions. “What's with that look? I wanna have fun too.”
“Ah, I see.”
Haru glanced at the others as he confirmed once again. “So… log ride?”
Natsu just shrugged his shoulder and Madoka nodded. Haru turned to Chihiro, who let out a smile as she nodded and said, “Un.”
---
“This will be our last date.”
“Are you serious, Madoka?”
Madoka rested her back on the wall as she looked up to the sky. “Actually my departure for Germany will be this Sunday.”
The statement shocked Natsu. “Eh?”
"I don't think there's any use of me staying here either way, with all the paperwork already completed."
“I see…” Natsu took a deep breath. “What will be of our deal...?”
“It will be terminated, of course.” Madoka cast her glance on Natsu. “I know your heart doesn't belong to me, Natsu. I can see that in your eyes.”
Madoka's words left him speechless, so she continued while staring at the floor.
“I thought you would have a change of heart if we dated. I guess I'm wrong.”
“...I'm sorry,” was the only words that came out of his lips.
“It's not your fault.” Madoka let out a sigh. “I should have noticed it earlier.”
Natsu only smiled apologetically as he patted the girl's shoulder and made her chuckle before she let out a sigh.
“I know this sounds selfish, but I hope Chihiro doesn't hate me for what I have done to her.”
“She's a good girl. I'm sure she doesn't blame you.”
Madoka smiled. “She is.”
Natsu chuckled.”You too.”
Rolling her eyes, Madoka shrugged Natsu's hand off her shoulder. “Oh please, Natsu.”
“I know you care about Chihiro.”
“I guess I do.”
They were in comforting silence when Madoka decided to speak her idea.
“Nee, Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want me to help you separate Chihiro from Kodama-san at the date?”
Natsu was surprised by the sudden offer and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “If you don't mind? But how?”
“I'll figure it out.”
“Thank you.”
“So... Can I get one last hug?”
Natsu rolled his eyes as he chuckled. He smiled at her and leaned in for a hug. “Why not?”
“Thank you for what you've given to me, Natsu.”
“You're welcome.”
---
“That was fun!”
“Yeah, when the log starting to go down I was so scared that we would fall out of it!”
“I'm glad we bought these raincoats.” Haru took a look at the others’ outfits and smiled. “None of us are wet!”
"Except for our shoes, heh." Natsu rolled his eyes, and Madoka smacked his arm.
“Maa, maa. We had fun, right? Nee, Chihiro?”
Chihiro smiled and nodded. “Yea, I thought it was scary at first but it was more fun than I had imagined.”
Her words brought a grin to Haru's face as he turned to face the girl. “I'm glad you had fun.”
“What's next?”
Before Haru could advance further in his move, Natsu cut in like a knife. Their eyes met and sent spark of rivalry to each other, making Chihiro slightly uncomfortable with the situation and take a glance at Madoka. Madoka let go of a sigh when she saw Chihiro giving her an apologetic look. She decided to butt in.
“How about house of mirrors? It should be fun.”
The two guys had their tension diverted, at last. Haru didn't seem like he was fond of the idea as they had to go in separately into the attraction. Natsu, on the other hand, looked at Madoka and grinned.
“Sounds like a great idea.”
Natsu squeezed Madoka's palm that was linked with his to express his gratitude as he remembered what she told him before. He gave her a smile and made the pianist blush a bit. Their act made Chihiro felt a little bit jealous, and she frowned when she felt her hand grabbed by Haru. He gave her his reassuring smile.
“Don't worry, Chihiro. I'll find you.”
It was Chihiro's turn to be blushing red, and Natsu’s to be getting jealous again. Madoka could only let go of a sigh at the scene happening in front of her at that moment.
“Let's go.”
---
“I hate this.”
Haru grunted as he walked inside the maze of mirrors and talked to himself.
“Why did I even let that Matsuoka and his girlfriend decide which attraction we should play?!”
He kept following the path until he reached a dead end, forcing him to turn back, but not before he let out his frustration and shouted at the blocking mirror.
“Mou, yada!”
On the other side of the maze, Madoka could hear the frustrated scream and let go of a sigh. She felt sorry for the guy, as she knew well the feeling he had, although she had given up on Natsu.
“So sorry, Kodama-san.”
She kept walking and looking for a way out from the maze of mirrors while thinking about the two separated ones.
“I wish you two some luck in here.”
At the same time, Chihiro could also hear Haru’s scream. It made her worried as she noticed that he didn’t seem to like the idea of entering the house but he didn’t say a word about it, and even tried to reassure her that he would find her inside. She started wondering why they even went on this double date to begin with.
“And why a house of mirrors…”
She thought of how Madoka’s behavior seemed to be different today, as she was no longer hostile toward Chihiro. She even saw her smiling genuinely at her so many times.
“I wonder if anything happened…”
It crossed her mind that perhaps Madoka’s happiness was from Natsu not breaking up from her. The thought made Chihiro shake her head to clear out the negative idea. She wanted to hold on to Natsu’s words.
Not far from there, Natsu stood facing one of the mirrors as he took a deep breath. He looked at his reflection on the mirror and smiled when an idea flashed in his head.
“I can just call her phone to pinpoint the location.”
He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number.
“I'm going to find you here, Chihiro.”
It didn't took long before the call was answered, and it relieved Natsu that he could hear her ringtone very clearly from his spot.
“Natsu?”
“Is it okay there?”
“Umm, I'm not sure if I can find my way out but I'm trying.”
Natsu chuckled. “You're such a lost kid, Chihiro.”
"Mou..."
He could imagine her pouting as she said the word and it brought a smile to his face.
“I'll find you and we'll walk out this maze together.”
Chihiro was somewhat excited, and all her worried thoughts vanished to dust as she walked slowly, waiting for Natsu to reach her place. It made Chihiro giggle.
“That is if you can find me in this confusing maze.”
Natsu chuckled again as he kept walking and tracking the origin of Chihiro's voice, since he could somewhat hear it, not just from the speaker of his phone.
“You can keep talking if you want, Chihiro.”
“Why?”
“It makes me easier to find you.”
Natsu could already see Chihiro's back and smiled as he proceed to approach her silently. When he was finally behind her, he grabbed her from behind and rested his head on her shoulder, surprising her in the process and turning her blushing red.
“I told you I would find you.”
“N-natsu…”
It took a little while before Natsu released Chihiro, and he let out a grin when he saw how red her face has become.
“Cute.”
“Mou…” Chihiro pouted and covered her reddened cheeks with her palms from embarrassment.
Natsu grabbed her hand and linked their fingers tight as they continued walking through the maze to find the way out.
“Ano ne, Natsu…”
“Hmm?”
"Why did you suggest this double date?"
Natsu was surprised by the question even though he had sort of expected her to ask. He looked away as he answered.
“Let's just say I'm jealous.”
“Ah…”
His answer brought pinkish hue to Chihiro's cheeks. She felt happy that he was actually jealous toward her interaction with Haru. She turned to look at him still looking away, bringing a grin to her face.
“Are you embarrassed to admit that you're jealous?”
Natsu chuckled as he turned to face Chihiro. “You know I can easily turn this against you.”
Chihiro gulped when she saw Natsu's eyes and prepared herself when he gently pushed her onto the wall and rested his arm beside her head as he leaned closer to her.
“Admit it. You're jealous, too.”
Chihiro shook her head as her heart skipped a beat and she looked away. “No.”
Her denial made Natsu lean even closer, so close that she could feel his breath on her ears when he whispered.
“It's okay to be jealous, right.”
Chihiro couldn't help but giggle. “I guess so.”
They gazed at each other for a while before ending it with an embarrassed laugh, and went on with the walk.
“Nee, Natsu... I want to ask about Madoka.”
“Hmm?”
“Why did she agree on this idea?”
Natsu smiled. “I guess it's better if you have a talk with her later.”
It was soon that they could already see the exit. Both of them stopped right before it and looked at each other in silence before Chihiro broke it.
“I don't want this to end.”
Natsu could hear a little sadness in her voice and feel her tighten the grab on their linked palms. He smiled as he assured her.
“Don't worry. We can do this again sooner than you expected.”
Chihiro was confused and wondered what he meant with it. She felt a bit upset when he released his hand, but a bit relieved when he patted her head.
“Let's go out now.”
---
“I swear I'll never enter a House of Mirrors again!” Haru exclaimed. He was totally lost in the maze until a staff member of the attraction entered after Chihiro worriedly reported his missing to the person in charge. He was annoyed by the fact that Natsu laughed his ass off when he walked out the maze, accompanied by the staff.
“You shouldn't have agreed if you're not good at finding way out, Kodama-san.” Madoka politely told him as she held her laugh from escaping.
Haru grunted. “What could I say, I was a minority.”
Chihiro looked down and felt a little guilty. “I'm sorry, Haru.”
Haru saw Chihiro's remorseful face and couldn't help that it lit a smile on his face as he told her, “Nah, it's not your fault,” and he patted her head before sending a glare to Natsu.
Natsu still couldn't contain his laughter when Madoka poked his arm.
“I'm thirsty. Buy me a drink, please?”
She gave a look to him, hoping that he got what she wanted to say. She needed time to talk to Chihiro.
“Well, sure." Natsu smiled and turned to Chihiro. "Do you want something?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Okay.” He took a glance at Madoka, whose palms had met each other in front of her chest as she gave him a hopeful look. He took a deep breath as he faced Haru.
“Hey, Kodama, come with me.”
When Haru heard the sudden invitation, he gave him a glare. He surely didn't want to be with the guy who just made fun of him, but he was forced to when Natsu pulled the hood of his jacket as he walked away
“Come with me, I need your help in bringing the drinks later.”
“Fine, now let me go!” It annoyed Haru as he struggled before Natsu released him and smiled, weirding him out.
“Give the girls a little time for a talk, okay?”
Haru kept silent as he grumbled to himself, “Whatever.”
On the girls' side, both of them decided to take a seat on a nearby bench as they waited for the boys to return. They sat in silence but inside their minds, they wanted to break the wall. Madoka took the initiative and surprised Chihiro a little.
“So... We had fun, didn't we.”
Chihiro nodded. “Un.”
There was a short silence before Madoka spoke up again while staring at the crowds.
“I want to talk to you. That's why I asked Natsu to go and buy a drink. I'm glad he brought Kodama-kun along.”
Chihiro wasn't sure how she should react to Madoka's words and couldn't help but wondering why she needed them to be alone.
Madoka closed her eyes and took a deep breath before revealing the truth to Chihiro.
“I'm departing for Germany tomorrow.”
It took a little while for Chihiro to absorb the information, and it made her turn to look at the other girl when she realized what it actually meant.
“You mean…”
“It means today's date will be the last for me and Natsu.”
Chihiro couldn't believe when she heard Madoka telling her that without any hateful tone in it. She could feel that she was upset, but that was all.
“But I thought you were supposed to depart next week?”
Madoka let out a sigh. “I've been thinking about if for a while after Natsu asked to break up with me that day. I told him my decision”
She turned her head to face Chihiro who looked bewildered.
“I'm sorry, Chihiro.”
Her apology made Chihiro tilt her head from confusion. “Why do you apologize?”
A smile appeared on Madoka’s face as she moved closer and pulled Chihiro into a warm hug. “You are too nice of a person, Chihiro.”
Chihiro was surprised but hugged Madoka back. “Errm, thank you?”
Her response brought laughter to Madoka’s face and she released her from the hug.
“I'm sorry that I took Natsu away from you all this time.”
Chihiro couldn't believe her ears, staring at Madoka's face with confusion, making Madoka sigh before she continued.
“You know, I always thought Natsu would've had a change of heart if we went out.”
Madoka looked away from Chihiro, and stared at the sky while muttered to herself.
“I wonder why he didn't reject my confession back then…”
“I'm sorry…”
As if it was a reflex, the apology slipped out of Chihiro's lips and made Madoka giggle.
“You don't need to say sorry, really.”
“Sorry, it's a habit.”
Chihiro retorted with a smile growing on her face when she realized she used the apology words again, and laughter erupted between them. She was about to thank Madoka when she noticed the boys had returned from their walk for the drinks.
Natsu noticed the happy scene between the girls as he walked to them with a smile on his face and the drinks in his hands. Slightly behind him, Haru still kept his sulking face, which soon turned to a look of surprise as he saw the giggles occurring between the girls. What he saw made him felt a little relieved that they had somehow mended their friendship, but at the same time he worried because, with the two girls reconciliated, he only had one possible conclusion that he knew he didn't want to hear.
“Your milk tea, Madoka.”
“Thanks, Natsu.”
“Oi, Kodama, stop zoning out.”
Natsu's remark snapped Haru back into reality and he gave Chihiro her drink.
“Nee, the sun is setting soon. How about ferris wheel for the last ride?”
Haru's face was brightened hearing Madoka's suggestion and he took it as a chance to confess to Chihiro one last time. He didn't want to give up yet, even if the chances were already too slim.
“Great idea, Moriyasu-san!”
Madoka just smiled as a response to Haru's exclamation. She eyed Natsu and Chihiro looking at each other, and she let go a sigh as she had a feeling she knew what they were thinking with Natsu grinning and Chihiro blushing. She saw Haru's optimistic look and she couldn't help but felt sorry for him, so she grabbed Natsu's arm and gave Haru one last chance even though she knew the likely result would be.
“Natsu, you're with me, right?”
Natsu gave her a frown although he had no choice but to follow her as she dragged him to enter the gondola when it was their turn on the queue. The scene made Haru quietly express his gratitude to the pianist girl, before he turned to look at Chihiro with a smile and grabbed her hands.
“Come on.”
Chihiro felt a bit disappointed that she couldn't ride the attraction with Natsu, but she didn't want to upset Haru either so she smiled back at him and walked together as they entered the next gondola to arrive.
---
“Everything looks so small from up here.”
“Yeah.”
The silence engulfed the gondola that Chihiro and Haru were in, as Chihiro stared outside the glass to view the scenery while Haru was being nervous preparing his line to confess to Chihiro once again. He bit his lower lip while taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He started tapping his feet in his anxiety, and Chihiro couldn't help but noticing it.
“Haru, are you okay?”
Her voice was laced with worry, prompting him to glance at her and let out a smile.
“I'm fine.”
Again, they were immersed in silence until Haru realized the gondola would soon reach the top of the wheel. He prepared his heart, taking a deep breath before he started speaking.
“Chihiro…”
“Hmm?” She hummed as she turned to face Haru.
“Do you still remember when we first started to get along?”
“I do.” That brings back memories, she thought, although some were a bit painful to remember.
Haru looked down as he started telling her what he was feeling for her. “I've always thought of how to get close to you, but I held myself, with you always being with Matsuoka.”
Chihiro wasn't sure if she should react with a smile, so she just kept her stare on him in silence.
“When Matsuoka finally went out with Moriyasu-san, I thought I finally had a chance.”
Haru, not waiting for response, continued his story. “It took me time to get along with you, but it was worth a lot to me. I realized how you felt for Matsuoka all this time when I saw how you watched him with those longing eyes, but I still wanted to fight for my chance.”
Chihiro was suddenly filled with guilt. She had a feeling of where Haru was heading, and she didn't want to hurt the heart of the guy who had been by her side through her hardest heartbreaking moments, even though it would eventually happen, so she gave him time to finish what he meant to deliver.
Across from her, Haru once again took a deep breath. Preparing his heart for one last time.
“I know I had confessed to you back then, and you didn't give me an exact answer that day, so I have to ask you once again.”
He crouched down to hold her hands tight and looked up to her face. When he saw her expression, he could already imagine what her answer would be, but he still pressed his last chance.
“Would you go out with me?”
Chihiro gazed at Haru, before she closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I'm sorry, Haru.”
Haru couldn't hide his disappointment when she slowly released her hands from his. He pulled back to his seat and laid his back on the gondola's wall. He looked down, but he strangely felt relieved at the rejection, with a small, crooked smile creeping onto his face.
“I guess I really couldn't win over that Matsuoka, huh.”
Meanwhile, in the other gondola, Natsu watched the scene closely as he had his back facing Madoka on the seat across. Seeing him like that, Madoka shook her head and let her palm meet her face.
“You know, Natsu, he needs this.”
What she told him made him turn around. “...But-”
“I know you're jealous and you wanted to be in a gondola with Chihiro, doing things I don't wanna say, but hey, this was supposed to be their date. Give him a chance to enjoy it.”
Natsu stared at her and tried to digest what she meant to say. He tilted his head as he failed to understand why she wanted to help his rival, making her let out a heavy sigh.
“I know how he feels. I was under the same condition after all. He needs to let it go, Natsu.”
Hearing her words, Natsu couldn't help but utter a “sorry” to Madoka, which she shrugged off.
“Nah, it's all over with us.”
The way she lightly brushed it off brought a smile to Natsu's previously frowning face.
“Thanks a lot, Madoka. You'll definitely find a good guy.”
Madoka chuckled. “Well of course. I'm gonna find nice German guy and make Chihiro jealous of me when I come back.”
Her retort brought Natsu a wide grin and he pulled a smug face when he said, “Doubt she will be, because she will have me when that happens.”
Madoka giggled. “True that.”
They had a little laugh before Madoka stopped and glared at Natsu.
“Court her properly and treat her well or you will face the consequence from me.”
Natsu raised his eyebrows from the sudden threat, before Madoka laughed again from seeing his shocked face.
“Just kidding, but yeah, I mean what I said. After all, she's my precious friend.”
Natsu let go of the breath he held before, he went into laughter along with Madoka and promised her “I will. I surely will.”
They sat in silence waiting for the ride to finally end. Natsu glanced outside and saw the sunset, then sighed.
“Oh maaan. You know, Madoka…”
“Hmm?”
“I wish you were Chihiro.”
Madoka rolled her eyes and chuckled as she saw Natsu's playful grin. “I wish you would just shut up.”
He chuckled and once again took a look at the gondola where Chihiro and Haru rode. He saw her looking outside like he did earlier, and wondered what was going through her mind at that moment.
Inside the gondola, Haru closed his eyes after the rejection. The little smile on his face was still there.
“Chihiro…”
Chihiro, hearing her name called, turned her head.
“Yes?”
“Thanks for telling me your feelings.”
Chihiro smiled. “I should thank you as well. Without you, my heart would probably have been in worse condition.”
“It's been my pleasure.”
It didn't take long before the ride ended and their feet finally touched the ground again. The sky had turned dark and they decided to call it a day, but Madoka once again made a suggestion..
“I want us to take a commemorative photo. Or purikura.”
The suggestion was warmly welcomed by the other three, and both Natsu and Chihiro patted her on the shoulder while Haru stood at the side smiling.
“That's great idea, Madoka-chan.”
Madoka grinned at Chihiro. “I know, right.”
“Then we should ask someone to help…” said Natsu, as all of them looked around and, before too long, Chihiro saw a familiar face so she decided to call the girl for the help.
“Aoi-chan!”
The girl heard her name called and turned her back, with a smile growing on her face when she recognized the caller.
“Chiichan!!”
Aoi ran a bit as she came to the group's spot and saw the pairings. She wondered if Chihiro was dating Haru, but she decided to shrug it off for now as she let out a smile at Chihiro’s happy expression and decided to tease her.
“Oh, double date?”
Chihiro giggled as she turned to look at the others. “Sort of.”
“I'm sorry to bother you while you're having fun as well, Motomura-san but…” Madoka took out her phone as she asked, “can you help us take a photo?”
“Sure.”
“We can take a picture together later, Aoi-chan,” added Chihiro, to which Aoi nodded happily.
“Okay~”
Madoka and Chihiro stood to pose, but not before they called the boys to join. Natsu grinned as he stood beside Madoka, but then shoved by her to be between the girls. He smirked as he jokingly exclaimed, “MY HAREM!” and earned rightful smacks on the head from the girls beside him.
Watching the scene, Haru chuckled as he took a place beside Chihiro. He stood with a small space between him and Chihiro.
“Kodama-san, can you stand closer to Chiichan so it's easier to take the photo?”
Haru glanced at his side, seeing Chihiro smile, then saw Natsu beside her just nodding with a smirk as if to give him an okay. Haru rolled his eyes but silently thanked him for this last opportunity, and he rested his palm on her shoulder.
“Okay everyone, are you ready?” Aoi asked the group as she was prepared to shot already.
“Haiiii~”
---
“It was a fun date.”
Haru let out a smile from hearing Chihiro’s remark when they finally called it a day, and he chuckled.
“Well, apart from some incidents, today was fun, indeed.”
Chihiro was relieved hearing him making fun of himself while grinning. She turned to look at Natsu and Madoka.
“So, I guess we should head back to our homes?”
Natsu smiled at Chihiro before he glanced at Madoka, asking for permission to take Chihiro home, to which Madoka rolled her eyes.
“Stop looking at me with those puppy eyes. It's not me you should ask.”
Her remarks made Natsu chuckle, and he turned to Haru but then decided to shrug it off and ask Chihiro directly.
“Shall I accompany you home, Chihiro?”
The invitation turned Chihiro’s cheeks red but she was still considering Haru’s and Madoka’s feelings as she took a glance at both of them. However, Haru just chuckled and pushed her gently.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you, Haru.”
“Nah.”
“Thanks, Kodama,” said Natsu as he smacked Haru's shoulder to express his gratitude, making Haru groan. He rubbed his smacked shoulder and his reaction brought laughter to the others.
“Maan, I didn't even smack you that HARD.”
“Shuddup.”
They continued to laugh for a while, when Madoka took a peek at the time and noticed how late it had become.
“I guess it's time to REALLY separate now.”
Haru checked his watch and nodded in agreement. “I guess so.”
He turned to Natsu, who had already linked his hand with Chihiro's without anyone realizing.
“Matsuoka, you still remember my words, right?”
Natsu nodded as his mind flashed back a little to the scene at the back of the gymnasium.
“Don't worry. I'll take care of her.”
Madoka stared at the two guys, who seemed to have reach agreement with whatever they were talking about, and she could tell that it must be related to Chihiro when Natsu took a glance at her, making her raise her eyebrows.
“I promised Madoka I'll take very good care of her, too.”
Madoka let out a chuckle as she glanced at Chihiro, who seemed to finally notice that they were talking about her and turned flushing red as a result. She decided to change the subject for Chihiro's sake before she exploded from her blushing.
“By the way, would you guys come to the airport tomorrow? A little farewell doesn't hurt.”
Chihiro was the first one to give her response and nodded with a smile, then Natsu followed suit.
“Sure, we will.”
They turned to stare at Haru who seemed unsure. “Moriyasu-san, am I invited as well?”
Madoka giggled. “Well, of course!”
“Then I'll come, too.” Haru grinned.
“Thank you, everyone. Jyaa, see you tomorrow.”
“See you.”
---
“It's a bit cold, isn't it.”
“Yeah.”
Chihiro rubbed her palms against each other to create heat as Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulder while they were walking in silence and, before they knew it, they had arrived in front of Chihiro's house. She walked past the gate and turned to face Natsu with a shy smile.
“Do you want to come in?”
The invitation warmed Natsu’s heart, but he had to reject it as he checked his watch. “Maybe next time. I'm afraid I will miss the last train if I do.”
“I see.”
Chihiro looked away with a warm blush on her cheeks when she heard the “next time” as he gave her an apologizing look.
“Jyaa, take care, Natsu.”
Natsu nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
He turned his back and walked away, but he stopped and turned back again to see Chihiro walk to the door of her house. He took a deep breath before he called her name loud and walked back to the gate.
“Chihiro!”
The call made Chihiro turned her head again and she was surprised to see Natsu coming back so she made her way to see him once again.
“Natsu, is there anything else?”
Natsu saw Chihiro raising her eyebrows and chuckled as he extended his arms above the fence and touched her cheeks gently.
“I guess I have never told you face to face but…”
He looked down and bit his lower lips as he gathered the courage. Chihiro gazed at him and she could feel her own heartbeat rise from the situation. When he finally braced himself to gaze at her eyes, he smiled and told her,
“I love you, Chihiro.”
His sudden confession sent all her blood to her face, as she could feel the heat gather on her cheeks. She was glad that she could finally know what he felt for her all this time, and a smile slowly crept into her face.
“I love you, too, Natsu.”
The genuine smile on Natsu’s face turned into teasing grin as he heard her response.
“I know.”
“Mou…” Chihiro pouted, even though she was really happy at that moment. It made Natsu thought of how cute she was, before he pulled himself for the main event.
“One more thing, Chihiro…”
“Hmm?”
“Would you be my girlfriend?”
Chihiro's pouting lips slowly turned into a smile as she nodded and accepted his confession.
“Yes.”
---
“You know, something feels a little different today…”
Madoka stared at the couple in front of her as they smiled sheepishly. She tapped the girl's shoulder with a smirk on her face.
“So I guess I should congratulate you two?”
“Well of course!” Natsu exclaimed as a smirk formed on his lips while his hand linked with Chihiro's. The declaration made Chihiro a little embarrassed and blushed as she looked down.
“Man, too much happiness here. I should stay away.” Haru pretended to sulk before he ended up chuckling and smiled at the new couple.
“Congratulations.”
Chihiro looked up to see Haru's smiling face, and it made her feel happy as she let out a smile. “Thank you.”
Haru heaved a sigh. “I'm so jealous right now but I'm also happy for you, Chihiro.”
“Don’t worry, Kodama, you'll get a good girl soon. Probably.”
Haru sent a glare to Natsu with that remark, but he decided to let it slide, thinking of it as a motivation. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah. Probably.”
"A good guy like you will find a befitting partner, Kodama-san."
The sudden remark from Madoka surprised the other three. She put on a smile as she said that, making Haru's heart skip a beat as he wondered if she was being genuine or just teasing him. His grin turned into sheepish smile as he rubbed his hair in embarrassment.
“T-thank you, Moriyasu-san.”
The scene made Chihiro raise her eyebrows, and Natsu attempted to hold his laughter before he finally couldn’t hold it anymore and snorted.
“This is certainly interesting development.”
Madoka rolled her eyes before she sent a glare to Natsu. She turned to Haru and said, “Don't bother.”
“Is the spring finally coming to Haru?” Chihiro giggled as she came to understand the reason why Natsu was laughing. Natsu then added “pun intended,” to her remark, and they turned to look at each other with wide grins on their faces. Their interaction made Madoka let go of a sigh as she placed her palm in front of her face and shook her head.
“Mou, Chihiro, not you too.” Haru pouted from the reaction. His sudden irregular heartbeat was finally calmed after all the teasing from the new couple.
An announcement was then heard, prompting Madoka to look at her watch and check the time as she realized her boarding time was soon to come. She took a deep breath as she faced her friends to say goodbye.
“Then… I guess we should part here.”
The tears were forming at the corner of Chihiro's eyes, as she swept them before they could come down. Her lips were slowly turning into a sad smile when Madoka reached out and pulled her into a hug.
“Don't cry. It's not like I'm not coming back again.”
When Madoka released Chihiro, who was sobbing, she turned to Natsu and repeated what she had told him before. “Take care of her, okay?”
Natsu smiled as he put his arm around Chihiro’s shoulder and pulled her closer to him. “I will.”
When Madoka faced Haru, she patted his shoulder. “Let's wish ourselves good luck in finding our next love.”
Haru chuckled. “Yeah.”
Madoka picked up her baggage as she walked away, but she stopped after a few steps and turned her back.
“Natsu, I'm gonna find a German guy as I've told you, so you should all meet me when I come back!”
With her final words delivered, she grinned and walked away without waiting for a response. It surprised Haru and Chihiro, who had finally stopped sobbing. They stared at Natsu as he chuckled and muttered, “oh Madoka,” before he realized they were looking at him with questioning look.
“It's nothing important, really,” said Natsu as he pinched Chihiro’s nose gently and she pouted.
“Mou…”
“Ahem, I guess I should leave now before I become a third wheel here.” Haru pretended to clear his throat and he waved his hand to the lovey-dovey couple as he left.
“See ya, Kodama.”
Natsu and Chihiro waved back as they watched his back blend into the crowd. When they could no longer see him, Natsu turned his head in Chihiro's direction.
“So… What should we do now?”
“I wonder…”
Chihiro observed him as his lips slowly formed a cheeky grin. He tilted his head and closed the gap between their faces in a blink of an eye, as he stole a kiss from her before he dragged her to walk.
“N-natsu!!”
Chihiro was still in a state of shock. Her heart skipped a beat and she could feel herself getting hot on the face as she touched her lips while looking at his back. When Natsu stopped his steps, he turned to see Chihiro's blushing face and he chuckled as he looked away. It wasn't like he wasn't embarrassed by his own action.
“Cute.”
Chihiro pouted. “Mou…” She gazed at him before averting her eyes as she muttered quietly, “You should at least tell me if you’re going to do it.”
“I will tell you next time so you can prepare to kiss me back.”
She didn’t mean for Natsu to hear the last part, so his response, while he was grinning widely, had turned her face red as a tomato. She punched his arm before she hid her face in it.
“Mou!!”
The punch made him hiss a bit before he chuckled from her reaction. He checked his watch and noticed that the next train was going to arrive soon, so he whispered to her, “You know, as much as I have fun teasing you, we should leave now or we'll miss the next train.”
Her face still had the pink shade when she raised her head and nodded. He smiled and patted her head.
“Let's go.”
“Un.”
---
Huff, it's finally done. Now I can move on to other things. :panic:
Comments and Critics are appreciated. :twothumbs
Hi everyone.
My OTP ship will sink soon. I'm sad, but I'll survive. *nods*
Anyway, I wrote this a while ago but I made a little adjustment to fit the current situation.
You're free to imagine the pairing but I made it with ChiiNatsu in my mind so there you go.
*note: Green is Natsu, Yellow is Chihiro
---------------------------------------------------------
I love it when you smile
Staring at you for as long as I could
Feeling your eyes on me
I thought of how cute you were
I wondered what you were thinking
I let out the smile I tried to contain
Seeing you smile made me smile too
I love it when you smile
I love it when you smile
But I love it more when it is because of me
But I love it more when you open yourself to me
You're precious to me
You're my close friend
Don't go
I'll stay
Even if it's just for a while
Even if I'll be gone soon
Because I need you
Because you need me
------------------------------------
:cry: