Sukisho Fan Fiction ❯ 10 years ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

10 years

 

By Sapadu

 

A/N: But everyone, thank you for your feedback, or at least reading this, and a big thank you to anyone who's made it on their favorites or alerts list! I feel so appreciated!

 

...But I still don't own the series, game, manga, or any kind of product. Not even close.

 

-----------------------------------

 

"Sora..." A voice whispered in the dark of the night, and when Sora didn't respond, it repeated, "Sora..."

 

The bed creaked as someone sat down and Sora felt the person's hand touch his side, traveling up to his shoulder.

 

"Mezama de yo... Sora..." There was no mistaking that tone of voice, Sora mused as he turned over, eyes blinking themselves open.

 

"...Omae wa... Ran?" He mumbled, still very groggy with sleep. Ran was sitting on the edge of his mattress, giving him a very pleading look.

 

"You promised..." Ran whispered, in a betrayed voice. When Sora blinked and sat up, Ran clarified, "You promised me... that you wouldn't push Nao away... that I could stay and pretend I was still with Yoru... and that you two wouldn't stay apart... so why?" Ran sniffled. Sora frowned, then rubbed his head.

 

"I'm not in the mood for games tonight, Ran..." He grumbled, before Ran turned his tearful eyes on Sora.

 

"You think that I'm playing a game, now?" Ran demanded, crawling up so he was sitting in Sora's lap, clinging to his shirt, "You think that this is just something I'm doing to seduce you? Do you really think that I don't actually care?" Ran buried his face against Sora's shoulder and started to sincerely cry. Sora scowled, mostly because he felt like a complete dickhead for having to do this, but pushed Ran away, all the same.

 

"You can't." He said, laying back down, "Fujimori's going to be married soon and you're going to have to respect that. What will you do when you can't come and visit me every night?" Sora didn't mean to be mean- he really didn't- but it was something that needed to be said.

 

He heard Ran sniffle.

 

"What will Sora do without the hope that Nao will come back to him?" Ran replied, as though saying the two situations were the same. Sora's eyes opened and he glanced up at Ran for a moment.

 

"...Sleep whenever I'm not working... tabun..." He muttered, burying his face in his pillow, like Ran had in his shirt a moment ago.

 

"...I can't, though... You can sleep... Nao can work... everyone else who you know can escape... but what do I do when I can't do any of that?" Ran pressed, sounding like he was truly looking for answers.

 

"...Maybe once he's married, Fujimori will let you go like I let Yoru go. Maybe then you two will be together again..." Sora offered, hoping that it would appease Ran enough to make him go away. Ran's face crumbled.

 

"...But then, what will you do?" Sora peeked open with one eye and gave Ran a considering glance.

 

"...If I just let you sleep with me, will you stop pestering me like this?" He mumbled. Ran was quiet, then finally nodded. With a sigh, Sora lifted up the covers and pretended to hold Ran comfortingly, like Yoru used to.

 

Unlike Ran, though, he didn't fall asleep again. He hadn't given it much thought, but what WAS he going to do when Fujimori got married? He'd liked having his old roommate and friend around again... and, though he admitted it to no one, he still had moments where he still thought of Sunao as his lover. Little thoughts like 'Where could he be at this time of night' before Sora remembered that they didn't live together anymore, or 'What does he want for breakfast' before Sora remembered that Sunao would be up and long gone for work by the time Sora had stumbled out of bed for his breakfast.

 

And, even more recently, Sora would wake up, find his arms empty, and spend a few moments panicking that Fujimori had disappeared, gotten kidnapped again, or possibly was back at the lab before he remembered that Aizawa had died in the fire at the greenhouse.

 

Sora shut his eyes and tried to tell himself that, either way, life would be back to normal as soon as Sunao was married and the sooner that happened, the better.

 

Now, if only 'normal' wasn't so painfully the opposite of what he WANTED.

 

------------------------------

 

"Fujimori... Look, um... I know you've got other things you want to be doing on your day off but... um... I just wanted to talk about something Ran said... a few nights ago..." Sora stumbled over his words, not touching his lunch. Sunao didn't look at him, anyway.

 

"Ii yo... I'm getting sick of him coming out every night, anyway..." Sunao muttered. After a moment, Sora opened his mouth again, and the wrong words came out.

 

"Um... do you and Nakou have a date set for the wedding or..." It wasn't what he'd meant to say or ask, but it came out, just the same.

 

"Her parents are taking care of those arrangements, Hashiba. Nakou-chan just asked them to give us time so we can work out an agreement on things like household management, children, budget..." Sunao replied, also not eating his lunch. Sora squirmed.

 

"...Sou ka..." He mumbled, and after a moment of silence, said another thing which he regretted, "...Ore... I might be being selfish here... demo... I still can't understand how you could agree to marry someone unless you... cared... Fujimori..." Sora still couldn't manage to say the big 'L' word, but Sunao seemed to hear it.

 

"...Feelings are impractical, Hashiba. If we all waited until we 'felt' right about things, nobody would fulfill the responsibilities that make life comfortable." Sora heard his former roommate say in a very bland voice, as though he was just repeating an answer that someone else had written for him, "If you waited until the time 'felt right' to get a job, Hashiba, you would be unemployed for your whole life. If people who are married waited until it 'felt right' to have children, it would be too late and the world wouldn't have people in it."

 

Sora stared incredulously at Sunao's rather cold-hearted response.

 

"...Fujimori..." He muttered, before a new voice interrupted their conversation.

 

"SORA-KUN!" Sora sat up a bit straighter, and Sunao's ears perked up, "It IS you, Sora-kun! I'm so glad: I thought it was someone else who looked like you, and I haven't seen you in so long!"

 

Sora turned around just in time to be met with a smothering embrace from a familiar white-haired young man. Because his face was pressed up against said person's shirt, Sora didn't see Sunao's head snap around, or the expression on his face.

 

"Hi-Hiromu? Hiromu, it is you!" Sora finally managed, sounding far too delighted for Sunao's tastes, "You cut your hair- it looks cute!" Neither Sora nor Hiromu noticed as Sunao made an 'Eh?' noise, as though catching from Sora's comment that these two had been in contact while he hadn't been.

 

"A-Ah... the new line at the agency I'm with is better taken with short hair..." Hiromu explained, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. Sora's expression changed.

 

"And what did you mean 'It's been so long'? We only stopped seeing each other a few weeks ago..." Sora groused, and this time, both he and Hiromu noticed Sunao's 'EEEEH?'

 

"Oh, Sunao-kun is here, too!" Hiromu sounded pleased with this, and immediately rounded on the other to give him a hug too. Sunao let him, but coldly didn't return the gesture.

 

"This is wonderful- I get to see you both again!" Hiromu said, looking between the two. Sunao was busy biting his tongue, while Sora grouched,

 

"Stop talking like it was so long ago." Before Sunao finally lost his head.

 

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HASHIBA?!" He demanded, at which Sora and Hiromu blinked.

 

"Hiromu and I were dating for a year. A few weeks before I ran into you again, we broke up." Sora explained, as though it was a concept that Sunao should have grasped without being told.

 

Sora heard a nasty noise come from Sunao's general direction before he realized it was Sunao grinding his teeth.

 

"Sunao-kun, are you upset about that incident?" Hiromu asked, innocently, and everyone knew that he was referencing the times he'd possessed Sunao to spend time with Sora and then once asked Sora upfront to go on a date with him, "But you were so friendly during the school cultural festival..."

 

Sunao stood up, putting his hands on the table with a slam as he did so.

 

"I just remembered- I have to be somewhere..." Sunao growled, walking away before Sora or Hiromu could do or say much.

 

"Usotsuki... Fujimori, you just don't want to stay around us!" Sora called after him, but Sunao ignored him. Hiromu frowned, before turning to Sora with a hurt expression.

 

"Sora-kun... did you and Sunao-kun have an argument?" Hiromu asked, taking the abandoned seat and gripping Sora's hand. They didn't notice how Sunao, who was still within seeing range, kept looking back over his shoulder and was now making some very interesting faces and noises of indignation.

 

"Iiya... It's just that..." Sora paused, before wondering how much he could tell Hiromu... he'd explained the Yoru/Ran thing that had bothered Hiromu when they'd been in high school... but where did he even START, now?

 

"Well... I guess it's just been bothering me... but Fujimori's engaged and... I don't know really how to deal with the fact that he'll be married sometime soon..." The news of Sunao's engagement raised Hiromu's eyebrows, but then he regained his composure.

 

"Oh... Sunao-kun's going to be married..." He said, in a somewhat stunned voice, before trying to make conversation, "Have you met his fiancé?"

 

Sora snorted, thinking what Hiromu would think of Nakou.

 

"Aah... she's kind of like Matsuri, actually..." He mused, and Hiromu seemed to do a double take before smiling again.

 

"A-no.... Sora-kun... would you want me to stop by some evening?" Hiromu asked, blushing shyly. Sora smiled as best he could.

 

"Gomen, Hiromu... but it's over..." He reminded him, remembering that the invitation Hiromu had just extended was what had gotten their relationship off to a start.

 

"I'll bring dinner over." Hiromu offered. Sora paused.

 

"Hiromu's homemade dinner?" Sora clarified, and when Hiromu nodded, Sora quickly reconsidered.

 

-------------------------------

 

As it turned out, Hiromu spent the night. Sora should have known in the first place, he knew, but, compared to Ran, this was a much pleasant and preferred change.

 

Sora also had a feeling that Ran would show up in the middle of the night, jealous and upset and tearful, but he also had been thinking, at the time, that Ran needed someone to get it through his head that Yoru was gone and that he needed to get over it. So, really, it was a gesture of spite, and for once, Sora couldn't find it in himself to care.

 

As per usual, some time around midnight, Sora felt rather than heard or saw Ran's presence hovering over his bed. He'd even explained it to Hiromu, so on the off-chance his bedmate woke up, there would be less of a chance of misunderstanding.

 

However, Sora was not expecting for Ran to just lay down and put an arm around his waist, like Hiromu wasn't even there. One of Sora's eyes flickered open, but he didn't turn his head. If Ran was going to play the game of ignorance, he could play it, too. In a similar gesture to what Ran was doing, Sora pulled Hiromu into a tighter embrace, one which the white-haired midget snuggled into with a contented 'Sora-ku-un...'

 

"So, that's it then?" Sora shivered as Ran whispered in his ear, which sent a chill down his spine, "As long as you can sleep with them, anybody will do, won't they?"

 

Both Sora's eyes shot open and he turned over, fiercely, waking up Hiromu in the process.

 

"Nandato? You always take everything in the worst way possible! And besides, why are you even here, tonight?" Sora demanded. Ran sneered at Sora, somehow maintaining an air of control and composure as he shifted back into a sitting position.

 

"I didn't want to come over tonight, actually. But Nao was worried that you might not be alone tonight, so he wanted me to come and check on you." Ran explained, as though he held the superior moral ground in the argument, "And since Nao was right about you, I think he wants to talk with you about it, now..."

 

Sora didn't even get a chance to blink before he was slapped across the face by a very pissed off Fujimori Sunao.

 

"RAN WAS RIGHT, WASN'T HE? IT DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU, HASHIBA- JUST LONG ENOUGH YOU CAN GET THEM IN BED WITH YOU, IS THAT RIGHT?!" Sunao demanded, with a very murderous expression in his eyes. Sora wrinkled his nose and stood up, equally angry.

 

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING- WE WERE JUST SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED, FUJIMORI!" He shouted back, while Hiromu sat up, dazed, confused, and spooked at the confrontation going on between the two former roommates.

 

"THEN WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT, THE WAY YOU WERE HOLDING HIM, HASHIBA?" Sunao continued to yell, his arms shaking as fists clenched at his sides.

 

"WHY DO I SUDDENLY NEED PERMISSION FROM YOU, WHO BROKE UP WITH ME TEN YEARS AGO AND WHO HASN'T EVEN KEPT IN CONTACT SINCE GRADUATION?! AM I YOUR PROPERTY, FUJIMORI?!" Sora responded.

 

"YOU BROKE UP WITH ME JUST AS MUCH AS I DID WITH YOU, HASHIBA- DON'T MAKE ME OUT TO BE THE CRIMINAL, HERE!" Sunao snarled, fiercely.

 

Hiromu took this chance to interrupt.

 

"Ano... Sunao-kun, if you don't feel comfortable with Sora-kun seeing other people, why don't YOU go out with him?" He asked, in the most innocent way possible, that not even Sunao could get mad at him. Sunao did, however, manage a glare.

 

"That's different- I'm already engaged!" He snapped, before lifting a finger and pointing it at Sora's face, "But you, Hashiba... you should show a little commitment, too!" Sora scowled and clenched his own fists.

 

"I do show commitment, Fujimori- at least I'm not always sneaking off and sleeping with someone else while I'm engaged. And I show commitment to people who I actually feel sincerely about, not just when there's some profit in it for me!" Sora retorted, angrily. Sunao's eyes widened, and Hiromu's mouth dropped.

 

There was a very auspicious silence in the air before Sora realized that he had, in essence, just called his greatest childhood friend a whore.

 

It was only when Sora found himself staring up at his ceiling with a large bump on his head that Sora realized exactly how hard Sunao had punched him, before the slamming of the screen door announced that Sora was now alone again, with Hiromu hovering over him with an ice pack and an apologetic expression.

 

"Sora-kun, gomen ne..." He whispered, pressing the ice against the bump, "Boku no sei da..." Sora shook his head before he realized that was a very bad idea- his vision blurred and his head started swimming as he did that.

 

"Iya... It's a problem between me and Fujimori, Hiromu... Aitsu..." But Hiromu interrupted him.

 

"Demo... Sunao-kun wouldn't be so angry if it was someone other than me..." He said, looking miserable, "Because... jistu wa, boku... I really liked both Sora-kun and Sunao-kun for so long..." Sora turned his head enough to stare at Hiromu, the idea of the blond also having a crush on Sunao being new to him.

 

"Hiromu..."He murmured in astonishment, before Hiromu's gaze hardened, a bit.

 

"Dakara... I'm the one who made this mess... So I'm going to fix it between Sora-kun and Sunao-kun." Hiromu said, firmly.

 

-------------------------------------

 

Sunao didn't want to leave the safety of his cocoon of blankets when a knock sounded on his door. It was warm and protective there. The real world didn't exist inside the bundle Sunao had made himself into. It was a shield between him and the reality outside.

 

Hashiba thought he was a whore. Hashiba Sora... his childhood friend, his supporter through all his troubles, his anchor when he nearly lost his mind, his protector, his roommate, his misguided target for vengeance, his lover... had called him a whore.

 

Kuu-chan... had just...

 

Sunao was too old to cry. He knew better- crying never solved anything, and all it did was give him a headache and the hiccups. So, he wasn't crying.

 

But he didn't trust his legs not to give out on him if he tried to stand.

 

"Sunao-kun... open the door, de kudasai..."

 

Hiromu...

 

Sunao got to his feet, scowl already in place. He was going to punch that little bastard as hard as he could, and he wasn't going to feel the least bit sorry for it, either, Sunao decided as he stomped towards the door.

 

He opened the door and was met with a shy, embarrassed Hiromu. Before Sunao could even make a fist, Hiromu bowed as deeply as he could.

 

"I'm very sorry, Sunao-kun, to have caused you any trouble or worry..." Sunao's arm shook with tension and anger, but yet, the sincerity of Hiromu's statement made him unable to punch the twerp where he stood. After a moment, Hiromu extended a box with a ribbon tied neatly around it.

 

"Please accept this as an apology." Hiromu stammered. Sunao blinked and looked down at the box. It looked like a video of some kind- it was actually just a plain, white VHS box with a bow on it, covering the title label. Sunao curiously moved the ribbon so he could read it, and was taken aback by what he saw.

 

'Gakusei High Presents:

 

Swan Lake'

 

"Kore wa..." Sunao muttered, remembering all too well the events around the production of the Swan Lake play during their cultural festival. Hiromu offered a hesitant smile.

 

"Sunao-kun was so happy at the end of the play... I thought you might feel better seeing it again..." He explained with a shrug. Sunao stared at the box, longingly, for a moment, before handing it back.

 

"Ii yo... I accept your apology... but I can't take this." Sunao said, but Hiromu didn't take the video back.

 

"Eh? Why not, Sunao-kun?" Hiromu asked, pouting. Sunao fumbled for an excuse, before saying.

 

"I don't have a video player- so I can't watch it." He finally said. Hiromu smiled, prepared for that.

 

"Demo... Honjou-kun... He's the one who gave it to me, and he said that you could visit him anytime if you wanted to watch it." Sunao fumbled for an excuse for a moment, before Hiromu started to talk again, "Jistu wa... even when Sora-kun and I were together... he talked about you all the time... both of us were wondering where Sunao-kun was... how Sunao-kun was feeling... what Sunao-kun was doing... Dakara, I'm glad to see Sunao-kun again and know he's doing well..."

 

Sunao's expression remained quite blank as Hiromu said that.

 

"Demo... it might be best if Sunao-kun could be honest with Sora-kun... or else more things like this will happen... if Sunao-kun hates Sora-kun, he should say that... or if Sunao-kun loves Sora-kun, he should say that, too..." Hiromu continued, shuffling his feet while Sunao stared straight ahead in a kind of daze, "...Because I think Sora-kun probably feels the same way as Sunao-kun... but can't say so because he doesn't know how Sunao-kun feels."

 

Sunao glanced down at the video again, before sighing.

 

"Arigatou, Hiromu-kun..." Sunao finally managed, bringing the video back in. Hiromu smiled and skipped off, while Sunao shut his door, only to lean back against it and stare at the video, thoughtfully.

 

-------------------------------------

 

"Nakou-chan, are you home?"

 

Nakou looked up from her book of business building strategies at the sound of her fiancé's voice at the door. It wasn't very often that Sunao came over to her apartment, so her curiosity was piqued, wondering what it was that made him come now of all times.

 

"Nao-kun, this is a surprise. I don't remember the last time you'd come over." She said, congenially as she opened the door and let Sunao in, before noticing the video box in his hand, "Ooh, Nao-kun- you should know better than to bring over movies like that before we're married." She teased. Sunao's face went pink.

 

"N-Nakou-chan... it's not that kind..." He protested, as Nakou giggled, then changed the subject.

 

"In any case... It's rare for you to even walk me home... did you have trouble getting here?" She asked, and Sunao shook his head with a small smile.

 

"It took me a while to remember where it was, but I didn't get lost." He replied, causing Nakou to smile.

 

"That's good." Nakou sighed, before turning her attention on the package Sunao carried, "Nani... kore?"

 

"Aah... our old high school... during the cultural festival, we put on a production of Swan Lake and... someone taped it..." Sunao explained, holding the box up, "...Last weekend, an old friend from school gave me a copy... I thought you might want to see it..."

 

Nakou tilted her head to the side with a grin.

 

"He-eh... sounds interesting. Ja, come in and make yourself at home. Should I make popcorn for this?" Nakou offered, closing the door and walking back towards the lounge as Sunao toed off his shoes.

 

"I don't think so..." He called after her, following her steps to the appropriate machine and pressing the play button.

 

Though, Nakou couldn't help but reflect, as they both sat down on the sofa, what odd dynamics their relationship had. They simply sat next to each other, with a respectful, professional space between them, as though they were in separate chairs altogether. They both sat so straight, so postured, with their hands folded properly in their respective laps. One would have thought they were garden statues watching a documentary for a company seminar or something like that. Sunao didn't even make an attempt to bridge the space between them by putting his arm over the back of the couch, or reaching across to hold her hand.

 

"Aww, Nao-kun, you were Princess Odette." Nakou giggled, seeing a teen aged version of her fiancé appear on screen, all dolled up in a pretty pink dress and the symbolic white wings while the Sunao seated next to her went bright pink.

 

"Matsuri-chan wanted me to play the role when he wrote the script... but I didn't want to, so he held a beauty contest to find another person who looked enough like a girl to do it... but then, that person got into an accident, so I had to play the part, anyway." He explained, eyes shifting slightly. Nakou giggled again, suddenly noticing how familiar the boy playing the prince looked.

 

"...Sora wa..." She mused, and Sunao sat up a bit more stiffly, "Sora wa... oji-sama?" Sunao looked away, completely, this time.

 

"Aah... Hashiba... kept trying to make me feel comfortable... even though he knew I didn't really want to do it... He was at least considerate enough that he didn't ask me to do something I didn't want to do... unless I volunteered, first..." Sunao agreed, thinking back on the incident. For some reason, he could only think of how Sora had treated him throughout the whole thing.

 

Nakou smiled, gently, watching Sunao's face change as he thought about it, before she turned back to watch the play unfold.

 

"I like you, Princess- I've made up my mind! Marry me!"

 

"Why all of a sudden, without even considering my situation, stupid prince?"

 

"He really was an idiot prince..." Sunao muttered, his proper posture fading as he knelt forward, resting the lower half of his face against his palm as his elbow rested on his knee. Nakou giggled.

 

"Sou da, sou da..." Nakou agreed, as they continued.

 

As the play ended, Nakou tilted her head to one side, as thought examining the players from a different angle.

 

"Nao-kun... you seem to be sincerely smiling in this last scene..." She observed.

 

"Who wouldn't be? I'd hated doing the play from the start... I was more than happy for it to be over." Sunao grumbled, not looking at the screen again, but Nakou shook her head.

 

"Nao-kun... you forget that people like Matsuri-chan and myself have an eye for these things... You're not just smiling out of relief... because smiles of relief aren't directed towards the Prince when the relieved is the person playing Odette." Nakou reminded him. Sunao blushed, and didn't answer. Nakou took that to mean she'd guessed correctly.

 

The video finished and Sunao stood up, awkwardly.

 

"Hiromu-kun... when he gave me this tape... told me that I should be more honest with Hashiba..." Sunao said, still not looking at Nakou, "Because... if I wasn't honest, more misunderstandings would take place... Demo... ore wa..."

 

Nakou stood up and gave her fiancé a friendly hug from behind.

 

"Nao-kun... is afraid to tell the truth about what he feels with Sora... ne?" She asked, and Sunao hung his head.

 

"There are some things... which would hurt Hashiba too much, if he knew the truth... Dakara, ore... I don't want to be responsible for any more harm that happens to Hashiba... since I did so much to hurt him... ano tokii..." Sunao whispered. Nakou's hold tightened in a comforting manner, before she stepped back.

 

"Demo... is it because Nao-kun wants to protect Sora? Or is it because Nao-kun is afraid that Sora will hate Nao-kun if he knew the truth?" She asked, and Sunao flinched, gritting his teeth, before changing the subject.

 

"...If you wanted... you could keep the video, Nakou-chan..." He offered, "I don't have a machine to watch it on in my apartment... and since you and Matsuri-chan have been teasing me about Hashiba so much, you can add it to your ammunition..." Sunao turned, offering his fiancé a smile. Nakou eyed the fake sentiment critically for a moment, before smiling and going along with it.

 

"...Oh... well, if I must..." Nakou sighed, with a much-put-upon air, which Sunao recognized as her way of saying she cared. He smiled, faintly, before turning around and taking one of Nakou's hands in his own.

 

"...Arigatou na, Nakou-chan." He said with a courteous smile, beginning to lift Nakou's hand for a polite kiss, before she pulled it away.

 

"Dame." She said, sharply. Sunao blinked, surprised, and Nakou simply stood with her arms crossed, looking him in the eye.

 

"Nao-kun... Only if you mean it. But, if you don't, dame desu." Nakou repeated, firmly. Sunao, momentarily struck speechless, simply stared at her for a moment, before smiling with relief.

 

"...Arigatou... Nakou-chan." Sunao smiled, this time because he meant his thanks, not just as a formality. Nakou smiled back, before Sunao continued.

 

"Hontou wa..." Nakou blinked, with surprise, "You really are... like Matsuri-chan, Nakou-chan..." Sunao told her. Nakou blinked for a moment, then smiled and waved as Sunao left.

 

-------------------------------

 

"Toyuu wakede- Nao-kun has been jealous, talked some sense into, and everything seems to be going smoothly." Nakou surmised, brandishing her evidence over her coffee. Matsuri, seated across from her, was grinning madly.

 

"I had a feeling Hiromu-kun's appearance would help, somewhat... Jealousy is often the best sign of repressed emotions, especially since Nao-kun only gets jealous when its because he failed to do or say anything to prevent it..." Matsuri said, nodding wisely. Nakou smiled, before she finished with her drink, until Matsuri spoke again.

 

"Demo..." Nakou peered over her cup, "Why did you tell him 'Dame' when he tried to kiss you goodbye, Nakou-chan? Nao-kun was only behaving like a gentleman should..."

 

Nakou put her cup down and gave Matsuri the most serious expression she could.

 

"I don't like the idea of being kissed by someone who doesn't mean it." She explained, "It's something... which should be reserved for those who truly do care... And besides... I wouldn't want Nao-kun to be so intimate with a person when there was already someone else who he wanted to be with..."

 

Matsuri smiled, then changed the subject.

 

"Are there any new designs you're working on?"

 

-----------------------------------

 

A/N: I'm actually thinking that maybe I'll have thirteen chapters, like the anime. Maybe fourteen... As for the stuff about the Swan Lake play, I took that from the manga, and there are some liberal interpretations of the games, here.

 

In the next chapter, there will be some manipulation of the time line, since the anime didn't quite seem to follow any coherent time schedule. With that in mind, guess what will happen. Guess right, you get a cookie!

 

Oh, and watch out for the Matsuri-duo. Something unexpected might happen!

 

Translations:

 

Mezama de yo...- Wake up...

 

tabun- probably

 

Sou ka- I see...

 

Usotsuki- While it doesn't SOUND like it's spelled this way, it is. Oh, and it means 'liar'.

 

Boku no sei da- It's my fault...

 

Gakusei- It means student, but I decided it was the best I could come up with, since their high school was never given a name...

 

Kore wa- This is...

 

Nani... kore?- What is this? Or And this... is?

 

Oji-sama- Prince

 

Sou da, sou da- True, true...