Kodomo No Omocha Fan Fiction ❯ I Don't Hate You ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

A/N Wow it's been awhile and I am SO sorry this is overdue. I got caught up in end of the semester stress at college and then seemed to experience a burnout during Christmas break. I've been working and reworking his chapter for 2 months now trying to get it right, and I'm still not completely satisfied with it, but I figured I couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer when everyone gave me such sweet reviews. I just finished reading volume 10 of the Kodocha manga and enjoyed it thoroughly, although I still think I am a number one fan of the anime first. Fans of the manga I dropped a line from volume ten in this chapter, see if you can find it ;) For those of you who might be curious, I have decided to explore the physical side of Hayama and Sana's relationship just because they are both turning into teenagers and experiencing those pesky and distracting hormones. Sorry for you hentais out there but there will be no lemon, they are after all still kids! BUT since Miho Obana seemed to think her characters were old enough to at least think about sex and how it related to them in volume ten of the manga, I don't feel bad including some fluffy lime moments in my fanfiction. Review and tell me what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kodocha and make no money from this humble fanfiction.

Hayama sat staring out the window of his classroom, waiting for the school day to finally end so he and Sana could spend the evening together eating dinner with his family. School had been bad before back when Sengoku-sensei had been undisputed master of the classroom, but at least it had provided interesting drama. Now after Sengoku's resignation he was stuck with a permanent substitute as his replacement. This guy droned on and on, never wavering from the lesson plan. Hayama snidely thought he would still continue lecturing even if the building came down around them during an earthquake. The lanky youth lazily swept his gaze over the classroom. He didn't even have the benefit of sharing a classroom with Kurata, he thought glumly, remembering all those highly charged conversations they had in sixth grade. He missed her magnetic energy; it seemed to anchor him in the present, holding his attention more than anything else in school ever did. Oh well, another half hour and he would be free from the claustrophobic confines of the room and outside in the fresh cold air, walking home with his girlfriend. Hayama turned his eyes back to the scenic view he had from his desk of the street and sidewalk in front of the junior high school's main entrance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hayama suddenly noticed a man standing still on the sidewalk, his attention directed towards the school as if he were searching for someone inside. With a start, Hayama recognized the man as the same rumpled stranger who had bumped into him that very same morning. He was some distance away and the youth couldn't make out his features or expression, but identified the same wrinkled clothing and camera dangling from a strap around his neck. Why was he standing there at the school's front entrance?

Before Hayama could think about the perplexing occurrence any further, his attention was brought back to inside the classroom, his teacher calling his name several times.

"Hayama Akito please stop daydreaming and answer my question!" he snapped impatiently, showing an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

Hayama tried to focus in an effort to remember what this dumb teacher had been rambling on about while he was gazing out the window. He scanned the chalkboard, looking for any clues. All that was written on it was an algebra equation, a fairly simple problem that he could've solved with his eyes closed while his girlfriend Sana would have still been stuck trying to figure what all of the symbols meant. With a wry smile on his face he answered, "X = -5 and Y = 24"

The teacher's eyes were as round as saucers, evidently he had not thought Hayama had any clue about what the lesson was about and wouldn't have been able to answer the question. "Y..yes that's correct. Thank you Hayama but maybe you could make more of an effort to pay attention in class."

"Hmph, and maybe next time you think it your duty to `teach me a lesson' you could pick a harder question to prove your point. I've been solving systems of equations for two years now," Hayama responded, his eyes filled with derision. Honestly, why did all of his classmates so readily defer to these adults? Just because they were older did not mean they were entitled to his respect. He quickly swept his eyes back to the window, checking for the rumpled stranger, but he had disappeared from view during the confrontation with his teacher. Who was that guy?

Hayama's teacher, meanwhile, stood at the front of the classroom gaping like a fish, not believing this boy's audacity. He was just about to transition into a heated lecture on manners and proper behavior at school when he was interrupted by the bell. Hayama quickly collected his things and left, not desiring to stay in the dull confines of the room any longer.

After collecting the appropriate books from his locker that he would need for the weekend, Hayama turned and saw Sana down the hallway chatting with Aya and Fuuka. With an inward grin, he wondered if she was still steamed at him for his little prank earlier in the lunch room. He approached the trio and greeted them, not surprisingly, with his standard "Yo", his face devoid of emotion as always. Fuuka and Aya responded cheerfully but Sana only turned a dark red in anger and started stomping away in the opposite direction of her boyfriend. Before she could put much distance between herself and her manhandling boyfriend, Hayama grabbed her by the crook of her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Sana, in her anger, whirled around to chew him out for his unforgivable behavior in the lunchroom, when she found herself pressed close against the teen. His arms quickly wrapped around her waist and as Sana looked up into Hayama's face she saw all she needed to see written unmistakably in his eyes. Apology, love, passion, and a few other emotions she wasn't aware of, all seemed to swirl in his intense hazel eyes. She felt her knees grow weak under the strain of such a powerful gaze. Once again she felt that peculiar jolt of electricity shoot up and down her spine as she realized just how much of their bodies were touching. "You shouldn't have done that in the lunch room you know, you pervert," Sana whispered, her voice obviously shaking and her eyes clouding over from the sensory overload wracking her body.

"Hey I doubt you'd let me touch you like that anyway so I thought I'd take the opportunity without your permission," Hayama replied back the slightest of smirks forming on his face. He definitely noticed Sana's reaction to his close proximity and he was enjoying himself almost too much considering they were still in public.

"Well if you thought a little more about the time and space, maybe you'd have gotten to touch them," she whispered back to him a little indignantly.

A look of confusion passed over Hayama's face until he said, "Don't you mean the time and place?" After he put the pieces together, his eyes narrowed and a predatory gleam entered his eye, a leopard tail sprouted and started swishing excitedly behind him. "So then you're saying I can touch them in private?"

The question still seemed a bit playful but Sana noticed his voice had changed somehow. It sounded deeper, with a raspy quality to it. What was happening to them? These feelings coursing through her were a combination of love and something else she wasn't fully aware of. It was intoxicating, like just being near Hayama was an addictive drug capable of sending her into a strange haze of feeling and passion. She felt like she needed something to happen but she wasn't sure what.

"I..I'm not sure exactly. I guess will just have to wait and see when the right time and space gets here," she responded in a quiet yet equally husky voice.

Hayama couldn't believe his ears. Sana was FLIRTING with him! Never in a million years did he think this sweet spunky girl could pull such a stunt. Granted the tease was offered in an unsure manner, but her tone of voice had caressed his ears, their whole conversation making him feel drunk with all the sexual tension. Hayama was very much aware of sex, techniques and all the other implications. He was not the type of boy to stay ignorant on any worldly topic for long. He, of course, had never put any of it into practice but he would be lying if he didn't occasionally envision all the possibilities he could explore with Sana. It was true they were still really only kids, but he was also aware of how pretty she was. Her delicate attractive face, fine red hair, slender graceful body, and long pale legs were permanently etched in his mind. He loved this girl and realized he wanted to touch her. ALL of her. He knew it was way too soon to think about going very far with her, but at that moment he greatly desired to at least see if they could do a bit more exploring with each other.

Hayama suddenly gripped Sana's arm tightly and began dragging her out of the school and down the street at a fast pace, his face set in a determined expression. The couple didn't notice the shocked expressions on Aya and Fuuka's faces, who hadn't actually heard their conversation, but had definitely seen their close interaction.

"AKITO!" Sana exclaimed in astonishment, "Where are we going and why can't you slow down?"

"I'm just trying to get to the `right time and space' as you put it, as quickly as possible," he slowed down just enough to glance behind him and flash her a brief smirk.

"Oh!" Sana quickly blushed from head to toe when she realized what he was talking about. So her boyfriend really WAS serious about this. "Well don't you think we should stop and get some sushi first? And I need to call home and tell Mama that I'm eating at your house tonight," she said trying to change the topic. She was suddenly feeling very apprehensive about what might happen once they found themselves alone and in private. So far they'd only interacted in semi-public or public areas.

Hayama slowed down a little at her words, obviously weighing his options very carefully. It was true his overactive teenage libido was telling him to find a quiet corner somewhere, ANYWHERE to test the physical boundaries of their relationship, but Sana had a point, and their new-found status as a couple was still new. He could wait a little longer considering it had taken him this long and many sleepless nights to get to this point with her. Besides, she said sushi.

"Fine," he answered her, an edge of the frustration he was feeling evident in his voice, "Call your Mom from the kiosk over there and then we can stop at this grocery store," he said indicating a phone booth on the corner of the street, situated right next to a small food market.

"Yes SIR cap'n SIR!" Sana barked out mock-seriously, her hand poised in a rigid salute at her forehead, an army helmet perched jauntily atop her pigtails. She then executed a clumsy about-face and marched solemnly and in step to the phone booth all the while Hayama tried to act very nonchalant, hoping no one would think he was at all connected with the eccentric red-headed girl.

While Sana was enthusiastically calling home to ask permission to eat dinner with him later that night, Hayama stood restlessly in the middle of the sidewalk, trying to calm his raging hormones. He knew he was excited but he was feeling jumpy as well. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like they were being watched. Hayama stuffed his hands deep into his pockets, his mouth settling itself into a frown as he glanced nervously around. His eyes settled briefly on Sana in the kiosk, waving her arms around excitedly as she jabbered on with her mother on the phone. Next he looked across the street, but only saw people walking home from school and work, no one looking purposefully in his direction. And yet he still couldn't shake the strange instinctive feeling that he was under covert scrutiny. Before he could dwell on his melancholy thoughts any longer, Sana hung up the phone and bounded happily out of the booth over to where Hayama stood still looking around suspiciously.

"Akito!" Sana exclaimed happily, "Mama said it was alright if I eat dinner with your family tonight although she kept teasing me about it, asking me if there was anything going on, but I didn't feel like telling her about us yet, but then Rei got on the other phone and started scolding me for hanging out with you so much and then Mama raced downstairs in her little car and whacked him over the head with her mallet and I heard in the background that she said you were a very nice boy and I could marry you if I wanted in a few years!" By this time Sana was turning a bit blue in the face from talking so long without breathing. She stood gulping in fresh air while her boyfriend stared at her, resigning himself to the fact that he would never understand her strange family.

"Umm ok so how about we go get sushi now," Hayama said awkwardly, deciding he definitely didn't want to comment on Sana's long-winded story.

"Ok!" she said, her infectious smile giving a warm glow to her face. Hayama felt himself melting just looking at her happy expression. His blood warmed significantly when she next wrapped her own petite arms around one of his and leaned her head onto his shoulder. It felt so amazingly natural he almost couldn't believe she hadn't been doing it always. She belonged by his side, and despite her sometimes spacey and eccentric behavior, he knew that he had found a soul mate in the crazy red-haired actress.

Inside the grocery store, the young couple quickly found a decent sized sushi package that wasn't unreasonably priced and took it to the counter to pay for it. It was then that Hayama reached into the back pocket of his school uniform trousers that he realized his wallet was missing.

"SHIT!" he exclaimed, a look of extreme annoyance clouding his face.

"Huh?" Sana looked at him confused.

"I can't find my wallet! I had my allowance in there plus my school I.D. card!"

"Oh no! That's terrible!" Sana said, looking sympathetically at her boyfriend. "Well I have enough yen in my purse so I'll pay for the sushi!" She said trying to find a temporarily happy solution.

Hayama nodded absently and started retracing his steps outside, hoping he might have dropped it nearby. As he wandered down the sidewalk a few feet, he was concentrating so hard on finding his missing wallet that he almost ran into the man standing directly in his path. Hayama's eyes, intensely studying the surrounding pavement, suddenly focused on a pair of slightly worn black shoes. His gaze shot up and he found himself face to face with the elusive stranger he had sighted twice already that day.

"Looking for this?" The stranger said, his voice thick with sarcasm and an unsettling smirk gracing his thin twisted lips. His arms were crossed in front of his chest but in one of his hands he held a brown billfold, slightly worn from use.

Hayama's eyes narrowed as he spotted his wallet in the possession of the mysterious stranger. "That belongs to me," Hayama said cautiously, unsure of who this man was, what he was doing with his wallet, and why he seemed to be stalking him all day.

"Yes I know it belongs to you Hayama Akito, since it was from your back trousers pocket that I lifted it this morning, without your knowledge of course. A clever trick I learned while I worked abroad. Did you know that in almost every major city across the globe you can find those who are skilled in the ancient art of pick pocketing? Obviously you didn't because it was almost too easy relieving you of your possession".

The strange man's tone was now mocking and his gaze was hard steel. He seemed to have Hayama where he wanted him and the teenager concluded that this calculating man was more than just a common thief.

"What do you want? Why have you been following me all day?" Hayama asked, his normally stoic voice revealing his anger. He hated not being in control and this man seemed to be trying to push him into something. His fists clenched and he tried hard to control the violent impulses running through his brain, whispering to just take back his wallet and be done with the man.

"Ah yes I see you don't beat around the bush at all young man. Well now that we've come to it, what I wanted was first to find out the identity of the boy who seemed to enjoy the sweet romantic attentions of the famous actress Kurata Sana. After lifting your wallet and taking the liberty of glancing through it, I discovered your name, address, and that you are a student of karate. Now that I have that basic information, what I want now is for you to consent to an interview with me, answering all my questions about the status of your relationship with said famous actress." The stranger was grinning now and could barely contain his perverse amusement at Hayama's predicament.

Hayama looked at the man first in horror, then in absolute disgust and revulsion. He was nothing more than a sensationalist reporter, a man with dirty methods and ethics who gained information by any means necessary to sell to magazines.

"I should have guessed!" Hayama spat, his tone revealing his loathing for the stranger, "You know you and your kind are nothing better than whores. There is no integrity or dignity in invading other people's privacy just to plaster it across the media for the world to see. You leeches would do anything for money wouldn't you?"

"Ah yes the moral lecture again. I can't even count how many times I have heard it before, from indignant victims such as yourself. Needless to say it still leaves you in the same predicament and I do not yet have your answer. I must warn you that if you do not consent I will take what information I have already gleaned from photographing you two and observing you together and write the story without your cooperation. I am simply offering you a chance to go on record and tell the world the truth," the reporter replied, a bored expression on his face as if he were merely discussing a trivial everyday business transaction.

"So you're blackmailing us instead?" Hayama snarled, "that's not an offer! You said yourself that you are going to write the story anyway! You know we've dealt with invasive reporters before. What do you want? Is it the money that comes from selling your stories and photographs?"

"Yes well I'm not here to discuss my own situation, but since you seem to be in such a difficult frame of mind at the moment I'll give you 48 hours to make your decision. You must call the number I have left in your wallet before Sunday evening at 5pm because I will be submitting my article and pictures to run in the Monday issue of my magazine whether you give me an interview or not. Think about it and you should consider how my article might affect your girlfriend if you don't go on the record. Wouldn't want me to have to embarrass your sweet Sana now would you?" The manipulating reporter handed the teenager back his wallet and turned on his heel to disappear around the block, offering his final threat over his shoulder as if the two were ending a casual and friendly conversation.

Hayama Akito stood rooted to the spot on the sidewalk, crushing his wallet in one hand. Blood red color swam before his eyes as rage and desperation crashed through his brain. It figured that things with Sana had been going too well lately. It was too good to be true that fate would leave him and his Sana to enjoy their new-found romance for long.

It was at that moment that Sana arrived by his side, happily swinging a plastic grocery bag in her hands. "Akito! You found your wallet! I'm glad now we don't have to keep looking for it,"

Hayama started suddenly from his reverie, trying desperately to push his internal turmoil beneath the surface and appear normal in front of Sana. "Yeah…I found it…" he mumbled distractedly.

"Akito?" Sana asked, a sweet look of concern washing over her face as her happy excitement turned into seriousness, "Is everything alright? You look angry,"

Dammit! He should have known that she would have been able to read his emotions. It seemed as if she were the only person in the world who could consistently see behind his mask of stoicism and find the emotions within, especially when he wanted most to keep them hidden. Hayama quickly resolved to not tell Sana anything at the moment until he could think about the whole situation again when he was in a calm and reasonable state of mind. "It's nothing," he said simply.

"Oh, ok" Sana said, recognizing his trademark phrase that really translated into `I don't want to talk about it right now'. Instead of pushing the issue, she slipped her free hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. She could see the cogs and wheels turning in his head and knew he was upset about something. She hoped it wasn't anything too bad.

Hayama glanced down at Sana's slender white hand entwined with his and felt some of the anxiety leak out of his body. She always seemed to have a calming effect on him whenever he was upset with something. He didn't feel any better about the reporter-situation but for the moment he felt like he could deal with almost any threat if he only had her by his side always. "C'mon, let's go see what Natsumi is making for dinner," Hayama replied and then dropped a sweet kiss on Sana's jaw line right below her ear, lingering only for a moment when he heard her breath catch in surprise.

Sana gazed adoringly up at Hayama and squeezed his hand even tighter. She loved this boy and knew he would tell her what was bothering him later when he was ready. Together they walked the several blocks to the Hayama family residence, holding each other's hands the entire time.