Don't Let Love Screw You Over Chapter 5 Part 1
Title: Don't Let Love Screw You Over
Author: sen_nen_no_yuki
Pairing: Chinen Yuri x OC
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, a smiget of angst
Summary: After two years of Kanna's oath to never fall in love again, she realizes that the cold hearted exterior she has worked so hard to build is being broken by one person; Chinen Yuri.
Note: A Multichapter sequel..-ing (?O-O) Screw Love Yay~
Chapter 5- Competing for the Heart of the Fair Maiden…or the Love of the Shining Knight
After Chinen left, Ryosuke realized that he had to start heading home. Both Kanna and Ritsuko said their ‘thank you’s and ‘goodbye’s and stayed behind to clean up the room. As they were packing their bags in silence, Ritsuko suddenly spoke up.
“Kan-chan…can I tell you a secret?” Ritsuko asked quietly. There was a faint blush on her cheeks. Kanna nodded. “Well…I know Chinen-san likes you and all… but…I…kind of….likehimtooI’msorry!” she blurted out the last words and Kanna was surprised that she even understood her. “But if you like him as well…it’s alright. I’ll give up.”
“It’s okay that you like him Ritsuko-chan. I don’t mind,” Kanna said trying to smile, despite feeling a small pain in her chest. Her chest started to ache more when she noticed that Ritsuko’s smile grew wide again.
“Thank you Kan-chan! You’re the best!” Ritsuko hugged Kanna before bolting off towards the door of the studio. That night, Kanna was left to walk home all by herself. She didn’t know whether she was depressed about Chinen’s sudden change in attitude, or the fact that she was scared walking alone at night. She pulled her arms around herself as she cautiously walked through the dark streets, making sure that no one was going to attack the innocent girl.
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Ryosuke had been going to the studio every day to help Kanna and Chinen prepare for their performance. After all, they only had a few weeks before the actual competition. Ryosuke always seemed to pay more attention to Kanna than Chinen even though Chinen was the one who needed to learn most of the routine. He tried to suppress his feelings of jealously but was unsuccessful. This was especially because Ryosuke would do many things to try to show Kanna his feelings. There were times where the four of them went out after practice for dinner and Ryosuke never failed to hold onto Kanna shoulders, leading her out and around crowds of swiftly moving people. He never failed to practically interrogate Kanna about her day and how she was doing. He always complimented her on absolutely everything too. All of the things that Ryosuke did to Kanna, made Chinen go absolutely crazy. What made the whole situation worse was that Kanna never did anything about Ryosuke’s sly attempts to make his way into her heart. She never shrugged off his hands; she always answered his questions and even blushed lightly whenever she got a compliment! Chinen hated that Ryosuke had squirmed his way into their lives and comfortably swished in between the relationship between him and Kanna. The friendship that took Chinen weeks, even months to build had only taken less than a quarter of that time for Ryosuke. Chinen thought it couldn’t get any worse. And then it happened.
Kanna and Chinen were walking out of the school building and heading towards the entrance gate when they say Ryosuke walking into the school in their uniform.
“Eh? Ryo-chan? Why are you here?” Kanna asked surprised. They were supposed to meet Ryosuke at the dance studio in about a half hour. So, why was he at their school and more importantly, why was he wearing their uniform?
“Oh, I’m meeting some of the teachers in the school. I’m transferring here next week,” he said nonchalantly, “But if I had known that this was your school, then I would have asked to transfer here much sooner,” he flashed Kanna one of his heart stopping smiles. Ryosuke honestly didn’t know what school Kanna, Chinen and Ritsuko went to and upon realizing that they would be going to the same one, made him really happy. After all, Ryosuke liked Kanna a lot. Chinen scowled at the happy aura surrounding the two of them. Chinen dislike the fact that his rival was entering the only place where he could be with Kanna without the interruptions from Ryosuke. His hands, that were once relaxed, were now clenched into fists behind his back and out of sight. It didn’t matter though because from what Chinen could see Kanna and Ryosuke were stuck in a happy bliss smiling at each other, laughing.
Kanna was completely oblivious to all of Ryosuke’s efforts to win her over. After all she was inexperienced in love and purposely blinded herself to any actions of any guy. In her eyes, all Ryosuke was, was a person who just helped her with her dancing. She was glad that he would be going to their school because they would be able to get so much more done while he was there during the day.
“I guess we should head over to the studio now?” Ryosuke suggested, only making eye contact with Kanna. He acted as if Chinen wasn’t even standing there.
“Sure, let’s go Kanna,” Chinen swung his arm over Kanna’s shoulder and lead her down the street. She nodded before shrugging his arm off her walking a little slower. Her gaze was focused on Ryosuke who was lagging behind, trying to comprehend the fact that Chinen had just walked away with Kanna. He smiled dorkily before jogging to catch up with her. The sidewalk wasn’t wide enough for the three of them to walk side by side, so Chinen was forced to walk ahead of Kanna and Ryosuke. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared down at the ground as he walked, trying to block out all of the giggles and laughter. He didn’t feel only left out, but absolute hatred toward the bond being formed between the two behind him. Kanna rarely showed anyone her more outgoing side. Even Ritsuko hadn’t seen it. Though Chinen realized she was showing less of her energy than he’s seen, he knew that she would end up becoming more and more open with him. Thinking about it, Chinen realized that her energetic side was probably from hanging around Yuto so much. He remembered that there were times where Yuto was so hyper that Chinen wanted to just tie him down to a chair and put duct tape over his mouth. He had a short flashback to the times where Kanna told him about all of her past pain. Honestly, anyone would end up hiding their true personality after going through so much. It didn’t help that Kanna had been so alone for most of her life either. The fact that Chinen had befriended Kanna and stuck by her without giving up, gave her the chance to let go her cold exterior and go back to the way she really was. Chinen tried to hide a smile because no matter whom this guy was Chinen was going to take the credit for bringing a part of the old Kanna back. That was something Chinen would always have over Ryosuke.
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Their evening practice was pretty much the same as usual; Ryosuke would show Kanna and Chinen and new part of the routine; Chinen would learn the dance quickly while Kanna would be a little slower at it; Ryosuke would always completely ignore Chinen and completely focus on Kanna; Ritsuko would always come to sit with Chinen, who by then was always leaning against one of the studio walls; She would always talk animatedly to him about the most random topics and he wouldn’t pay attention to her because of his intense glare towards the pair; Chinen would always note when Ryosuke pulled Kanna a little closer to him than he should of, or when his touch would linger on her waist, and he always managed to catch the smirk that was directed towards him. Chinen knew that Ryosuke caught onto his feelings and was now battling with him for Kanna’s attention. At the end of every single practice, Chinen would leave before the others. Ritsuko and Ryosuke would always follow suit, and Kanna was left to lock up the room and to go home. Chinen was neglecting the one he loved because his sight was clouded by jealousy. He didn’t even realize that he was leaving Kanna to walk all the way home alone along the dark and dangerous streets. Jealously was indeed an evil emotion.
Kanna was walking home, trying to make sure that she looked as if she were the most confident person in the world when in fact she just wanted to curl into a ball in fear. For some reason, the darks streets had started to scare her despite walking home alone so many times before. She remembered being told that you were supposed to look like you weren’t a venerable wreck in order to scare off any kidnappers or stalkers. They always went after the meek. The people who walked alone at night with their heads down or avoided the gaze of the people on the street where the ones who were always attacked; the ones whose bodies were found the next morning after being mutilated or raped. Kanna didn’t want to be like one of those people. It was why she was holding her head high and fiercely glaring at the other people on the street. She was giving off a vibe that she didn’t want to be messed with when in fact, she felt so lonely that she just wanted someone to walk by her side.
When Kanna got home, she threw her shoes onto the mat by the front door and flopped face down onto her bed. Not only was she wiped out from dance practice, but she hadn’t been sleeping very well for the past few days either. There was this constant thought pecking at her brain. She wondered why Chinen hadn’t walked her home again that night. He looked mad this time when he left the studio but Kanna couldn’t figure out why. Kanna debated sending a text to him in order to ask what was wrong, but she remembered that she didn’t even exchange numbers with him. She wondered if she should have called Yuto in order to get the number from him.
Kanna pulled her cell phone from her purse that was lying on the ground before dialing her brother’s phone number. She was looking around the room waiting for it to ring when she realized what time it was. It was past 10 pm and she knew that Yuto would definitely be asleep so right after the first ring she hung up hoping that she didn’t wake anyone up. She lay back down on her bed and scrolled through her contacts list before realizing that Chinen’s number was already saved there. She wondered when on earth she programmed it into her phone and thought she was going crazy because she couldn’t remember doing such a thing. She stared at the number wondering if she should actually go through with her plan. After all, it was okay for her to text him right? He was the one who liked her so much, so he wouldn’t right?
She realized Chinen was actually becoming a little distant from her and there was a part of her that missed him. Of course Kanna wasn’t going to admit to that though. She still had her hatred for men, for relationships, for love; she just couldn’t understand why she was left with such an unsettled feeling inside. She sighed before typing a message:
Are you alright Chii?
You left early again today…
Are you feeling okay?
By the way…how did your number
get saved into my phone?
She pressed the send button before deciding to go take a bath. Collecting her clothes and bath things, she picked up her cell phone before going into the bath. She sat at the edge of the tub staring at her phone in her hand, waiting to get a reply as the tub filled. After waiting for a little, she sighed, placing the phone down beside her before turning around to turn off the tap before shedding her clothes and stepping into the water. She sat with her chin rested on her folded arms staring at the device that was just lying there. Her eyes suddenly widened wondering why on earth she was so anxious for a reply. She let out another sigh. She closed her eyes and held her breath, dunking her head under the water and shaking it, hoping that she would be able to wash away the thoughts in her mind.
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Chinen was lying on his bed with his arms behind his head using them as a pillow when he got the text. He was staring up at the full glowing moon thinking about Kanna. His phone vibrated, but being deep in thought, he figured that he would just ignore it and check it later. His gaze shifted from the moon to take a quick glance at his cell phone when he realized that it was probably best to check to make sure there was no emergency. His eyes widened realizing that the message was from Kanna. He read through it before debating. Would it be best to tell Kanna that he was jealous? After all, she already knew that he liked her and if she hadn’t noticed how he felt then she was just oblivious to it all. It was a rare event that Kanna even sent messages to him. Maybe it was best to just write a normal message.
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Kanna was still in the bath when her phone rang loudly. She forgot to set it on silent mode and the sudden ringing in the silent house made her heart stop for a few seconds. She dried her hands on a nearby towel before picking it up and looking at the message sent back to her.
I’m fine. I just wasn’t feeling
well after practice >.<
don’t worry about me
As for my number…
I put it there of course :P
You shouldn’t leave
your phone lying around Kanna
people can steal it ;P
Kanna realized that there was a small smile on her face as she read the text. She felt somewhat relieved that he wasn’t angry with her or anything. Kanna couldn’t remember leaving her cell phone out in the open though. Whenever she put it down, it was only during the practices when they forgot the CD with their song on it. She quickly typed a reply to Chinen before getting out of the bathtub.
You stole it didn’t you ¬_¬
and I didn’t even get your number >.<
Unfair exchange!
Let’s exchange properly next time
we see each other nee?
I’m relieved that you’re okay
Feeling better? I hope so.
Our performance is only in a few more
weeks away! I’m so nervous…
what if I mess up?
Chinen’s reply made Kanna feel a little more relieved about having to dance in front of so many people. Honestly, she was feeling extremely anxious, especially when Ritsuko told her one day that the competition was going to have a live audience of a thousand people. She seemed a little too enthusiastic when she mentioned that on top of the thousand in the audience, the whole contest was going to be broadcasted on television.
Kanna you know the routine WAY
better than I do!
Don’t worry you’ll do fine ;D
You’ll have me standing on stage…dancing
with you ^-^
I’m getting lazy =.=
Going to call you ^-^
Kanna was holding her phone in one hand while trying to tug her pajama top over her head with the other as she read the message. Suddenly, just as she read the last line, her phone rang. She managed to answer the call in the midst of her struggle and she squeaked out a, “Hold on Chii” before pulling the shirt on fully.
“Sorry about that Chii,” she laughed weakly.
“You okay Kanna?” she could hear him chucking on the other end of the line.
“Yes…I just got caught in my t-shirt…” Kanna went to sit on her bed as she twisted a towel around her wet hair. “So what’s up Chii? Why’d you call?”
“Mmmm, no reason in particular. I just wanted to talk to you. I can’t sleep anyways. So you’re worried about our performance? You think we’re ready to go?” Chinen asked.
“I don’t know Chii… you said I know the routine better than you but I still think we should practice. I haven’t had much of a chance to actually dance with you…Ryo-chan’s been doing a lot of your parts and I want to get used to dancing with you. We haven’t put the singing and dancing yet together either…Maybe we should start practicing even more…” Kanna sounded unsure. Chinen smiled as he was talking to Kanna. So she noticed that Ryosuke was getting a little too close to her. “Do you…want to come over sometime Chii? I guess…we could practice at my apartment…It’s a little small space wise, but we could work on the dances without getting bothered…” His smile became even brighter. It was a chance for him to go to Kanna’s house without Ryosuke getting in the way.
“Sure, sounds like a plan! We can practice after…practice if you don’t mind me staying late…” Chinen silently prayed that Kanna would say ‘yes’. He wanted as much time as he could alone with her. The only available time they could meet was after their usual studio practices. The rest of their days were filled with school. They were lucky that they were both intelligent because if the hadn’t finished their homework everyday in class before school ended, they would have to do the assignments on top of practice.
“That’s alright Chii…but is it alright with you parents? I don’t want them to get angry at you for staying out so late…”
“Nope, it’s fine. My parents are all for this whole performance thing. They’ve been waiting for me to get a chance to perform on television. Remember how I told you my mom’s a dance teacher? Well…she’s been trying to convince me to sign up for tons of contests and stuff. I’ve just never wanted to…until I realized that you could dance, Kanna,” he yawned loudly and heard Kanna giggle. Chinen liked talked to her like this. He was glad that she could also talk to him normally. Even though Kanna still put on her cold, heartless exterior for other people, it made Chinen happy that her iciness melted whenever she was with him.
Kanna also felt comfortable talking to Chinen. She never really met any guy who wanted to try to become her friend. Most of the guys she ever talked recently only wanted to confess to her. Well… Chinen only talked to Kanna to confess to her too…but he still tried to actually get to know her.
They talked on the phone for about an hour before Kanna heard Chinen yawn loudly again. She tried to convince him that it was late and that he should go to sleep. Even though it was already half past 12, Chinen refused to hang up his phone. They continued to talk until Kanna realized that Chinen’s responses were started to sound slurred and made no sense. She quietly laughed to herself when the only answer she received from him became a quiet snore.
“Goodnight Chii,” she said quietly before hanging up her phone. Kanna placed her phone on her bedside table and stood up, positioning herself in the centre of her bedroom. She spun once before she went through the routine she had been practicing for months. The dance became like second nature for Kanna. She knew it like the back of her hand. Even though it was well past midnight, it wouldn’t hurt to practice a little more right? She was still feeling lively and figured a little physical activity would make her tired.
Kanna didn’t realize she was smiling to herself until she saw her reflection in the small mirror by her bed. What was she so happy about? Was she happy because she was going to spend time with Chinen? She spent practically every moment of her day with him with the exception of class. A yawn interrupted her thoughts and Kanna could feel her eyes starting to droop. She lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling before sleep took over.
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Kanna’s morning went by the same way as usual. She walked alongside Chinen who slowly biked his way to school, she tried to avoid the stares that she got from all the students making their way into the building, she was greeted by a overly energetic Ritsuko, she was escorted to her class by Chinen who patted her on the head and then something unexpected happened. The second Kanna turned around to walk into class, she bumped into the person standing behind her. She turned around to apologize when she realized that she was face to face with Ryosuke.
“Sorry Ryo-chan! Eh? Ryo-chan!?” Kanna’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock.
“Morning Kanna, guess what? As of today, I’m going to be in your class!” he said excitedly with a beaming smile. As Kanna was gaping at Ryosuke, Chinen was standing behind her with an expression that matched. His look of shock suddenly turned into a glare when he saw Ryosuke snake an arm around a stunned Kanna’s shoulders, leading her into class and smirking at his victory.
Chinen’s hands clenched into fists once again until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He was about to punch whoever had the idea of interrupting his fuming thoughts when he realized that Ritsuko was the one who was behind him.
“G-good m-morning Chinen-san…” she said quietly with a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.
“Morning,” Chinen answered quickly through his clenched teeth before marching off to his classroom. With his eyes clouded by jealousy, he failed to realize the frown that graced Ritsuko’s lips and they way she walked to class with her head lowered and her feet dragging.
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The rest of the day carried out like usual. Kanna, Chinen and Ritsuko would spend their breaks on the school’s rooftop except that now Ryosuke joined them. They practiced their performance for as long as they could and this time, Kanna actually suggested that Ryosuke let Chinen dance with her from then on. Chinen smiled knowing that this time, he won against his rival. Ritsuko watched with envious eyes from the sidelines as Kanna and Chinen danced together. She admired the way that they swayed perfectly together. It had been a while since she had seen Kanna and Chinen dance together and yet, the distance that was once between them noticeably lessened. There was something different about the dance when it was between them as opposed to Kanna and Ryosuke. Ritsuko envied whatever relationship Kanna had with Chinen, even though she always claimed that there was nothing between them. Ritsuko could remember the first time that she watched Ryosuke and Kanna dance. Even with the extremely limited dance experience she had, Ritsuko could tell that Kanna and Chinen were truly a better pair.
Before the bell rang, Ryosuke was talking to Kanna about a math problem he needed help with. Of course it was just another plot to drag her away from Chinen again. The way the Ryosuke was leaning just a little too close to Kanna going through the question in his textbook made Chinen tense. Again, Chinen felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Ritsuko with an English textbook and a pencil in her hand.
“Chinen-san…could you help me with my English? I’m not very good at it …” It was rare to see such a calm Ritsuko. What she didn’t know was that Chinen hated English. He often questioned why he was forced to learn the language because he was Japanese and would never need it. Chinen glanced back at Ryosuke and Kanna and then back to Ritsuko who was standing in front of him.
“Sorry Amano-san, I’m not good at English,” he said politely before leaving to talk to Kanna. Ritsuko looked at the ignored book in her hands. She looked back up to her three friends sitting against the wall before her gaze settled on Kanna. She was jealous that Chinen cared about Kanna so much more than her. She hid her frown before walking over to the group and heard them talking about their plans for practice. Chinen decided that he could use this chance to show Ryosuke that Kanna was his.
“So, we’re still on for tonight right Kanna?” he asked, stealing glances at Ryosuke to gauge his reaction.
Ritsuko decided to cut in, “What plans? How come I didn’t hear about any plans? Are you two leaving me and Ryosuke?” she added a pout.
“No Ritsuko-chan…we’re just planning to go to my house after practice so we can just polish some of the dance…” Kanna replied quietly.
“Really? Can I come to help you two? PLEEEAAASSSEEE KAN-CHAN????~~~” she pleaded in her usual tone.
“Umm…sure I guess? I have to warn you that my apartment is really small though…” Kanna sounded unsure. There was a part of her that wanted to practice with only Chinen around. Then Ryosuke spoke up.
“If you two are practicing your dance, is it alright if I tag along? You may need my help after all.” In truth, Ryosuke just couldn’t stand the thought of Chinen being at Kanna’s house. He tried to hide the smile on his face when he saw Chinen’s head whip around to face him, his two eyes narrowing into a glare. Ryosuke wouldn’t lose so easily.
“Ummm…I guess it’s alright…” Chinen gave an apologetic look towards her. Their practice was only meant to be between them and yet everyone was tagging along. Chinen regretted opening his big mouth because now, Ryosuke was probably going to take over their practice again.
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At their usual studio practice that night, Chinen and Kanna had the chance to dance together again. They started to add in the singing with their routine and the performance piece was becoming quite polished. After finishing a run-through of the song, Kanna noticed that Ritsuko was standing in front of a piece of paper on the wall with her eyes opened wide and her jaw hanging open. Upon closer inspection, she could see Ritsuko was staring at a calendar.
“Kan-chan…Ryo-chan….Chinen-san….You guys all know that the competition is this…” she paused and gulped. “THIS Saturday?” Kanna’s eyes widened in surprise and also looked at the calendar. Ritsuko was right. Throughout all their days of practice, they hadn’t realized how fast the days went by. They only had the rest of that week to practice before Kanna and Chinen would be put on stage in front of the thousands in both the studio and television audiences.
Ryosuke, as usual, took over the practice. He continued to coach Chinen on how to perfect his movements and continued to steal Kanna from him. Chinen was starting to become irritated earlier than usual except that this time, there was no way that he could escape because running away would mean that he couldn’t go to Kanna’s after practice. All he could really do was sit there and clench both his teeth and fists to prevent him from attacking his love rival.
Ritsuko went to sit beside Chinen. She tried to make small talk again.
“So Chinen-san, are you nervous for your performance? You don’t look like you are…” she asked quietly, looking at Chinen with a blush on her face.
“No, not really. I’ll be fine because Kanna will on stage with me. I think instead about worrying over me being nervous, we should be worried about Kanna,” he chuckled thinking about the way she sounded so panicked during one of their late night conversations of the phone.
“Oh…I guess so…Nee Chinen-san…is it okay if I call you ‘Chii’ too? Kan-chan calls you that right?” she continued to try to keep their conversation going.
“I…guess it’s okay…” Chinen’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t paying much attention to what Ritsuko was saying. He was more concerned with the fact that Ryosuke had just leaned in to whisper something into Kanna’s ear making her giggle at his words. He was slightly confused when a bright smile came across Ritusko’s face.
“REALLY? It’s okay?! Yay~!” she stood up and threw her arms around Chinen. Realizing that she probably just embarrassed herself, she sat back down next to Chinen blushing a shade darker than before. “Sorry Chii…”
At the same time Kanna turned around to see the source of the high pitched squeal, she saw Ritsuko hugging what was supposed to be her dance partner. There was a slight pang felt in her chest seeing them together and the way that Ritsuko blushed when she realized what she did. She smiled slightly remembering Ritsuko’s crush on Chinen. Kanna was a little glad that Ritsuko was getting the chance to spend time with him. She heard Ritsuko call him “Chii” as she was apologizing to him. She never knew that they were that close. Kanna was staring at them and didn’t realize that she had crossed her foot over Ryosuke’s. When she took a step, she was sent flying forwards and fell onto the hardwood floor. Ryosuke was shocked by Kanna’s sudden trip that he had no time to catch her.
Chinen immediately bounced up from his sitting position and ran to help Kanna up. Ritsuko watched as Ryosuke also ran to her aid. The two teens each had one of Kanna’s hands and were hoisting her to her feet. Ritsuko watched as she giggled to herself while rubbing her nose which she knocked on the floor when she fell. Instead of going to help her, she just remained sitting against the wall, now with a frown on her face. She started to hate how her friend was stealing Chinen’s attention. Kanna said that Ritsuko could have him and yet she was still pulling him in. Ritsuko thought that Kanna already had Ryosuke. On top of that, what happened to Kanna’s nickname “The Heartless Witch”? The hearts of neither Chinen nor Ryosuke were broken. She hadn’t even pushed them away! She watched as Kanna had a normal conversation with both boys giggling when one of them said something funny. She looked too happy with Chinen.
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The four students were walking to Kanna’s apartment after practice. Ryosuke was walking on Kanna’s left while Chinen was on her right, walking slightly behind the pair. Ritsuko was walking behind the whole group. To be honest, she wasn’t feeling like her usual energetic self. She tried multiple attempts to get Chinen’s attention but failed miserably. Ritsuko remembered when they were leaving the studio.
~Flashback~
“It’s gotten cold nee…” Kanna said quietly as she left the warmth of the studio and walked into the cool breezy evening. She pulled at her jacket trying to wrap it around her petit body. Kanna felt a weight around her shoulders and looked up to see that Chinen was wrapping his jacket around her. “Chii…you’re going to catch a cold…” she tried to shake the jacket from her shoulders when he pulled it even tighter around her.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” he smiled to her before they started walking. Ritsuko looked at the slight shiver that went through Chinen’s body and an idea popped into her head.
“Chii, you must be so cold! Here, I’ll help keep you warm~” Ritsuko wrapped her arms around Chinen’s hoping that her body warmth would help him. She blushed slightly from the proximity.
“No, it’s alright Amano-san. I’m okay.” Chinen shrugged off Ritsuko’s arm and dug his hands into his pockets. Ritsuko saw him trying to wrap his arm around Kanna’s shoulders but she pushed away his hand forcing him to walk as he was before. Ryosuke was standing next to Ritsuko glaring at the couple that was walking away before deciding that it was best if he caught up with them.
“Let’s go Ritsuko-chan. You don’t want to be left behind do you?” Ryosuke beckoned her to follow after the group. Since it was almost dark and Ritsuko didn’t even know the way to Kanna’s house, she knew that she should hurry or else she would be left behind.
~End of Flashback~
Ritsuko was so focused on her three friends in front of her that Ritsuko didn’t notice that the sidewalk wasn’t level. Her foot was caught on the bump and she fell forwards. She put her arms out to catch herself and winced as she felt the concrete scrape against the palms of her hands and her knee. When she looked up, Ritsuko could see that her three friends had turned around and only Kanna was rushing to her side.
“Are you okay Ritsuko-chan? You’re bleeding!” she gasped when she saw Ritsuko’s scraped knee. Before she knew it, Kanna had already placed a Hello Kitty bandage over the scrape and was offering her an outstretched hand. As she was helped up, Ritsuko could only notice that Chinen hadn’t made a move towards her. Earlier that day, Chinen practically ran to help Kanna even though Ryosuke had been standing less than two feet away from her. She sighed to herself before continuing to walk along with her head hung low. Every now and then she would look up to make sure that she was still following Kanna only to see the three of them chatting animatedly. She also never failed to notice the way that Chinen had been smiling towards Kanna. Ritsuko silently promised herself one thing at that point. If Chinen wasn’t paying attention to her, she would just have to steal his attention by taking away the distraction. And that distraction was Kanna.
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The practice at Kanna’s house went smoothly at first. Ritsuko had taken a seat next to Ryosuke on the couch as he coached Kanna and Chinen on their dance. She was still envious of Kanna for the way that she could be held by him. Ritsuko was unskilled in dance so she knew there was no way that she could be like Kanna. Their personalities were also completely different. Kanna was quiet, cold, shy, and rarely made friends. The only people she even communicated with were in that room, who knew if they were even friends. She on the other hand was loud, outgoing, positive and was always surrounded by people. She was friends with practically everyone in her class. Secretly, the only reason Ritsuko decided to become friends with Kanna was to get closer to Chinen. She would never forget the day that she saw them on the same bike and running around the school holding hands. She knew the rumors that surrounded Kanna. She knew that no one wanted to be friends with the person who shied away from the crowds. She knew that everyone was amazed that Chinen had become close to someone who was such an alien.
Before they knew it, it was already past nine o’clock. They all had school the next day and decided that it was best for them to leave Kanna’s to go home. It was already dark outside and Ryosuke offered to take Ritsuko home since it was in the same direction. Obviously he didn’t really care about Ritsuko because on the way home he walked at a pace much faster than her. He didn’t even try to match her walking pace. Anyone could have come up from behind and taken her and Ryosuke wouldn’t have noticed.
Back at Kanna’s house, Chinen and Kanna were surrounded in silence. Kanna suggested that they practice the routine once more since both Ryosuke and Ritsuko had left them alone. After finishing their dance, Kanna walked Chinen to the end of the steps outside of her apartment building. She looked up at the sky and realized that the moon was full.
“It’s so pretty…” she whispered to herself. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to send Chinen off but when she looked at him, he was gazing up at the moon as well. “Chii?” she called to get his attention and smiled when she saw him shake his head to pull himself out of his mesmerized state.
“Sorry I zoned out there…Well goodnight Kanna,” he said giving her a pat on the head before walking away.
“Night Chii…Be careful on your way home okay?” she called out to him, hoping that he heard her. She knew that he had when she saw his arm fly into the air as if he were waving away her worries. Kanna turned around to walk back into her house. Looking around the empty room made her feel a little lonely. She went to sit on her bed staring at a spot on the wall as she let her thoughts wander. They only had four more days until the competition and they were pretty much prepared. Kanna felt nervous and excited at the same time. She didn’t like that she was going to be watched by so many people and yet, wanted to show off how much she loved her talents.
Kanna was also worried about Ryosuke. They were becoming closer and closer weren’t they? Kanna noticed that Chinen was becoming a little distant from her as well. Maybe Chinen didn’t like Ryosuke… After all they were always competing. Kanna noticed the glares that they always sent each other and that they hid their hatred for each other when she was watching. Maybe Chinen didn’t like her anymore. Kanna remembered the day that she met Chinen and the promise he made to her. He said that he would never give up on his love for her didn’t he? The way that Chinen always ran away from their practices when Ryosuke took over made Kanna think otherwise. She shrugged off the feeling she had when she felt her eyes slowly closing and her body aching. She went to take a bath before lying on her bed and drifting into a deep sleep.
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Kanna, Chinen and Ryosuke were sitting on the school roof enjoying the warm summery air during break when they heard the quick pitter patter of footsteps that were slowly growing louder. The door was opened with enough force to knock the door off its hinges as it smashed against the wall, causing all three relaxing students to jump in shock. They say Ritsuko running through the door with a piece of paper in hand. Kanna saw the paper and slightly braced herself, knowing that she would be the subject to Ritsuko’s excitement. Just as she predicted, Ritsuko ran towards a sitting Kanna and knocked her backwards into Ryosuke. Chinen sighed before he went to help the two girls stand again and watching as Ryosuke got to his feet on his own.
“You’ve got to be more careful Amano-san. You could really hurt someone,” Chinen reprimanded. “So what is it this time?”
“LOOK! A HAUNTED HOUSE!!! CAN WE GO PLEAAASSSEEE???” she flashed her puppy-dog eyes. In reality, Ritsuko wanted a chance to cling onto Chinen. She wasn’t exactly afraid of ghosts, spirits and the like, but she was an excellent actress which would make it easy for her to pretend to be frightened.
“The competition’s in a few days Ritsuko-chan…” Kanna didn’t like the idea of visiting a haunted house. She had always been anxious when even thinking about that bump in the night or the monster in her closet when she was younger. She hated the idea of people touching her or attempting to jump out to scare her. She remembered the times where Yuto would surprise her and she ended up crying out of fear. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if we’re skipping out on practice…”
“Maybe we should go…after all, we’ve been working so hard for the past few months and it’d be nice to take a break and have some fun,” Ryosuke tried to convince Kanna that they should go. He could see Kanna’s discomfort and assumed that she was like all the other girls who were absolutely terrified of haunted houses. He tried to hide a smile as he imagined the opportunity he’d have to show Kanna that he could protect her.
Chinen stood there unsure of which side to take. He also liked the idea of showing Kanna that he wasn’t afraid of anything and the possibility of Kanna clutching on his arm in fear. He looked at Kanna and also saw her look of uncertainty. He knew that it wouldn’t be fair to force Kanna to go somewhere she didn’t want to go. He wanted to speak up and cancel the plans, but he also knew that they were all under the stress of the competition. Chinen figured that going to the haunted house would be a good way to relieve the pressure that would soon break them all and so he spoke up. “It sounds like a good idea! Why don’t we go?” he smiled before moving a little closer to Kanna to whisper to her quietly. “It’s alright Kanna. If you don’t feel comfortable in the haunted house you can always hold onto me,” he winked to her when she gave him a ‘what the hell are you talking about’ look. Ritsuko and Ryosuke glared at the two when they heard Chinen chuckle at Kanna’s expression.
“So I guess it’s settled then?” Kanna said quietly, silently hoping that they would change their minds. She was let down then both Ryosuke and Ritsuko answered with nods.
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Kanna knew she regretted walking into that haunted house. She was currently clinging onto Ritsuko’s arm knowing that she wouldn’t be able to stand being so close to either Ryosuke or Chinen under these circumstances. Ritsuko was currently hugging onto Chinen’s arm while Ryosuke walked alongside Kanna trying to convince her to hold onto him.
Kanna could have stayed outside and just waited. But no, she just had to fell guilty once both Chinen and Ryosuke refused to go into the haunted house without her. And so, here she was, her arm linked with Ritsuko as she had her eyes closed and her hands over her ears. She silently wished that the whole adventure would be over soon.
Chinen wished that he had Kanna on his arm instead of Ritsuko except to matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t free himself from her grasp. He could hear the screams and whimpers coming from Kanna which made him want to just pull her into his arms to protect her. These kinds of haunted houses didn’t scare Chinen. He would jump in shock ever now and then when people in masks jumped out at him, but he wasn’t as frightened as Kanna was. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ryosuke who also looked a little nervous in the haunted house. He smiled to himself knowing that he had won this battle.
Ritsuko was happy that she had Chinen in her arms. This was the one chance that she could hold onto him without question and was glad that she had found the ad for the haunted house in the newspaper. What Ritsuko wasn’t too ecstatic about was the fact that Kanna was holding onto her. She wondered why Kanna couldn’t just hold onto Ryosuke. After all, he was practically begging her to stay close to him. Secretly, Ritsuko wanted Kanna to let go of her so she could run ahead with Chinen so they could be alone but no matter what she did, Kanna wouldn’t let go of her. Seeing how frightened she was also hit a soft spot in Ritsuko’s heart which made her not want to leave her friend even if that friend was her love rival.
Ryosuke wished that Kanna would just forget about Chinen and hold onto him even though it was obvious that she was a little preoccupied with not fainting more than trying to stay with Chinen. He was a little nervous being in the haunted house. Ryosuke was terrible with ghost stories and other things that he couldn’t physically see. Horror mangas didn’t bother him and haunted houses shouldn’t either. Yet for some reason, there was a shiver that went down his back every time he looked at the decorations in the house. There were huge blood splatters on the walls, dummies holding cleavers in one hand and decapitated heads in the other, masked monsters and to top it all off, the floors were covered in a think cloud of fog and eerie music was playing. What made the whole experience worse was hearing the odd blood curdling scream every few minutes. He was looking at the faces of his friends. His eyes narrowed when he looked at Chinen who looked like the haunted house was boring him.
As Ryosuke was looking at Kanna again, a masked man suddenly jumped out and wrapped his arms around Kanna from behind. Both Ryosuke and Ritsuko’s hearts stopped in shock and they started to run. Ritsuko was still clinging to Chinen and he was dragged along with them. Kanna’s arm had come loose from Ritsuko’s and she was left in the grasps of the masked man who was growling lowly. She let out a scream before the man let go of her. She could hear him chuckling even though she had her eyes closed, her ears covered and crouched closed to the ground. She let out a whimper as she heard the man leaving her alone to go scare some other people.
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The three of them made it outside of the haunted house panting hard. Ritsuko and Ryosuke started to laugh thinking about how scared they had gotten. Chinen watched the two of them laughing and he himself had a slight smile on his face. That is, until he realized that Kanna wasn’t there. He remembered back to the haunted house where the masked man had appeared and grabbed her. His heart sank thinking about how scared Kanna was as they were walking through the horror house. He looked around the exit of the haunted house absolutely terrified when he couldn’t find her. Chinen raced back into the haunted house through the exit and was stopped by a maintenance man who told him to go back to the entrance. Chinen ran around the building as fast as he could and pushed past the people in the line.
At the same time, Ryosuke also realized that Kanna was missing. He told Ritsuko to stay put while he went to find Kanna. Looking around the building, he noticed that the maintenance man had made Chinen go back to the beginning of the haunted house and so Ryosuke looked for an alternative. He searched around the building and found a door that led into the house. He had to run up a flight of stairs before reaching the inside of the haunted house. Luckily, Kanna was curled in a ball only a few feet away from the door that Ryosuke entered through. He ran to Kanna’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched in surprise and he could hear her sob even harder. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to lead Kanna out of the house the normal way, he picked her up bridal-style. She started to kick and thrash about thinking that another masked man had come to abuse her until she heard Ryosuke’s voice.
“Kanna! Calm down! It’s me Ryosuke!” he said as he carried her out the door he entered through, down the stairs and out of the house. In the light, Ryosuke could see that Kanna was crying and her eyes were red and swollen. The colour had disappeared from her face and she looked like she was about to pass out. He put her down and led her over to Ritsuko who apologized repeatedly for letting her go.
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Chinen had run through the whole haunted house and he couldn’t find Kanna. He exited the building hoping that he could ask for help from one of the staff when he noticed that Kanna was already with Ryosuke and Ritsuko. Even from the distance she could she that she was crying.
Chinen ran over to the group and immediately pulled Kanna into his arms, letting her bury her face into his shirt. He felt her flinch from the shock but just continued to sob.
“I’m so sorry Kanna…” he whispered to her.
Ryosuke suddenly pulled Kanna away from Chinen and put his arms protectively around her.
“Good job Chinen-san. You left Kanna-chan all alone in that haunted house. Look how scared she is,” he said haughtily. “It’s a good thing I found her first,” he moved closer to Chinen and whispered in his ear. “She’ll definitely like me much better than you now. And if she becomes…I mean when she becomes my girlfriend. By the way, Kanna’s a great kisser” he smirked. Even though Ryosuke was lying, he knew he had angered Chinen and that made him happy. Many thoughts ran through Chinen’s head. He was furious. He honestly didn’t know who to believe because he knew that Kanna was such an anti-lover that she would never resort to such a thing. Yet she had been all alone with Ryosuke and who knows what he could have done to her. Before he knew what he was doing, a punch landed on Ryosuke’s face. Ryosuke was knocked backwards from the sheer force of the impact. He looked up to see Chinen breathing heavily with his hand in a fist.
“Damn you! I wasn’t the only one who left her! How dare you even touch her like that you bastard!” Chinen yelled at Ryosuke who was on the ground holding his cheek. Kanna had stopped sobbing and she started at Chinen. Ritsuko was so shocked that she too was frozen in place.
Ryosuke suddenly got up and pushed Chinen onto the ground. He straddled him holding a fist above his face. Chinen tried to push him away but his cheek was met by a punch. Using all of his strength, Chinen rolled to the side and Ryosuke fell onto the hard pavement. He stood to his feet panting as he felt his lip bleeding, his nose throbbing and he wondered if it was broken or not. Ryosuke suddenly stood up and attacked Chinen again. Punches were thrown again and Ryosuke, who was lying on the ground, punched the back of his knee causing him to topple over. Ryosuke used Chinen’s drop in guard as a chance to pick him up and throw him against a nearby wall. He had pinned him to the wall and beat him mercilessly. Suddenly, Kanna pulled Ryosuke away from a nearly unconscious Chinen and stood between them.
“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” she screamed. When they both dropped their fists she stared at them in utter amazement. “Why would you two fight like that? Aren’t you friends?”
“Why the hell would I want to be friends with that bastard!?” Chinen yelled, directing his comment towards Ryosuke. He wobbled, looking like he was about to fall unconscious and yet he was still feisty enough to spit insults at his enemy.
“You’re just jealous because I’m the one who saved Kanna-san and that you were too stupid and slow to find an alternate entrance. You could have found her you know. If you were as smart as me that is,” Ryosuke said as-a-matter-of-factly. Chinen suddenly stumbled toward Ryosuke again and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down to meet his intense glare.
“Don’t you dare think that you’re better than me,” he growled before throwing Ryosuke backwards onto the pavement with all the strength he had left. He was about to attack him again when Kanna pushed him backwards. She stood in front of Ryosuke with her arms spread wide.
“I told you to stop it Chii! What’s wrong with you?! Ryo-chan actually helped me and yet you’re beating him up? Why? If you have something against him fine. But that doesn’t mean you have to attack him!” Kanna yelled at Chinen trying to stop him from hurting Ryosuke even more. He already multiple bruises on his face, his lip was cracked and bleeding, he was punched in the eye which would soon turn black and blue and there were scratches all over his arms from falling on the pavement. Even though Chinen was small, the damage he caused was scary.
What angered Chinen most was that Kanna was protecting this guy. He didn’t deserve her sympathy especially because Ryosuke was just trying to get close to her to steal her from Chinen. Chinen could tell that Ryosuke didn’t care for Kanna’s well-being as much as he did and yet, here he was in an even worse condition than Ryosuke and she had all of her attention on protecting his rival. Yes, Chinen hit Ryosuke many times, but he was much stronger and the force of his punches hurt a lot more. Chinen’s eye was already black and swollen, he had three cuts on his cheeks, one of his knees were scraped open and there was blood slowly dripping down his leg, his knuckles and back were bruised, he had a fat lip that was bleeding and he was walking with a limp. His mind travelled back to what Ryosuke said about kissing Kanna. He still couldn’t believe it. He thought that Kanna would be much angrier with Ryosuke and yet, here she was standing up for him. He knew that once he vowed to stay by Kanna’s side, he would possibly face feelings that would never be reciprocated because he fell for someone who refused to fall in love. To hear that Kanna kissed Ryosuke made Chinen think that she loved the enemy and his feelings would remain unrequited. He knew that men weren’t supposed to cry and that by crying he’d be letting Ryosuke have his victory. Chinen decided to quit while he was ahead and to hurry away from the judgmental eyes of society.
“Whatever. I’m going home,” Chinen turned around and started to leave. Kanna debated calling out to him and trying to convince him to stay with them, but she feared that another fight would start between the two guys. All she could do was tend to Ryosuke’s wounds and sigh as she watched Chinen’s silhouette disappear as he walked further and further away.
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Kanna went home alone that night after refusing Ryosuke’s offer to walk her home. She tried to text Chinen again that night except that she got no reply. She thought that he could have been busy or that he had fallen asleep and decided to wait for an hour to see if he would text her back. Luckily Chinen messaged her back shortly after. Kanna didn’t understand why, but she agreed with his decision. She put her phone on her bedside table before closing her eyes and going to sleep.
Don’t worry about what happened today
Yeah, I’ve got a few batters and bruises
but I’m okay
Promise me you won’t bring it up again until the
competition’s over okay?
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And because my post is too long click Here for the next part please~
Author: sen_nen_no_yuki
Pairing: Chinen Yuri x OC
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, a smiget of angst
Summary: After two years of Kanna's oath to never fall in love again, she realizes that the cold hearted exterior she has worked so hard to build is being broken by one person; Chinen Yuri.
Note: A Multichapter sequel..-ing (?O-O) Screw Love Yay~
Chapter 5- Competing for the Heart of the Fair Maiden…or the Love of the Shining Knight
After Chinen left, Ryosuke realized that he had to start heading home. Both Kanna and Ritsuko said their ‘thank you’s and ‘goodbye’s and stayed behind to clean up the room. As they were packing their bags in silence, Ritsuko suddenly spoke up.
“Kan-chan…can I tell you a secret?” Ritsuko asked quietly. There was a faint blush on her cheeks. Kanna nodded. “Well…I know Chinen-san likes you and all… but…I…kind of….likehimtooI’msorry!” she blurted out the last words and Kanna was surprised that she even understood her. “But if you like him as well…it’s alright. I’ll give up.”
“It’s okay that you like him Ritsuko-chan. I don’t mind,” Kanna said trying to smile, despite feeling a small pain in her chest. Her chest started to ache more when she noticed that Ritsuko’s smile grew wide again.
“Thank you Kan-chan! You’re the best!” Ritsuko hugged Kanna before bolting off towards the door of the studio. That night, Kanna was left to walk home all by herself. She didn’t know whether she was depressed about Chinen’s sudden change in attitude, or the fact that she was scared walking alone at night. She pulled her arms around herself as she cautiously walked through the dark streets, making sure that no one was going to attack the innocent girl.
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Ryosuke had been going to the studio every day to help Kanna and Chinen prepare for their performance. After all, they only had a few weeks before the actual competition. Ryosuke always seemed to pay more attention to Kanna than Chinen even though Chinen was the one who needed to learn most of the routine. He tried to suppress his feelings of jealously but was unsuccessful. This was especially because Ryosuke would do many things to try to show Kanna his feelings. There were times where the four of them went out after practice for dinner and Ryosuke never failed to hold onto Kanna shoulders, leading her out and around crowds of swiftly moving people. He never failed to practically interrogate Kanna about her day and how she was doing. He always complimented her on absolutely everything too. All of the things that Ryosuke did to Kanna, made Chinen go absolutely crazy. What made the whole situation worse was that Kanna never did anything about Ryosuke’s sly attempts to make his way into her heart. She never shrugged off his hands; she always answered his questions and even blushed lightly whenever she got a compliment! Chinen hated that Ryosuke had squirmed his way into their lives and comfortably swished in between the relationship between him and Kanna. The friendship that took Chinen weeks, even months to build had only taken less than a quarter of that time for Ryosuke. Chinen thought it couldn’t get any worse. And then it happened.
Kanna and Chinen were walking out of the school building and heading towards the entrance gate when they say Ryosuke walking into the school in their uniform.
“Eh? Ryo-chan? Why are you here?” Kanna asked surprised. They were supposed to meet Ryosuke at the dance studio in about a half hour. So, why was he at their school and more importantly, why was he wearing their uniform?
“Oh, I’m meeting some of the teachers in the school. I’m transferring here next week,” he said nonchalantly, “But if I had known that this was your school, then I would have asked to transfer here much sooner,” he flashed Kanna one of his heart stopping smiles. Ryosuke honestly didn’t know what school Kanna, Chinen and Ritsuko went to and upon realizing that they would be going to the same one, made him really happy. After all, Ryosuke liked Kanna a lot. Chinen scowled at the happy aura surrounding the two of them. Chinen dislike the fact that his rival was entering the only place where he could be with Kanna without the interruptions from Ryosuke. His hands, that were once relaxed, were now clenched into fists behind his back and out of sight. It didn’t matter though because from what Chinen could see Kanna and Ryosuke were stuck in a happy bliss smiling at each other, laughing.
Kanna was completely oblivious to all of Ryosuke’s efforts to win her over. After all she was inexperienced in love and purposely blinded herself to any actions of any guy. In her eyes, all Ryosuke was, was a person who just helped her with her dancing. She was glad that he would be going to their school because they would be able to get so much more done while he was there during the day.
“I guess we should head over to the studio now?” Ryosuke suggested, only making eye contact with Kanna. He acted as if Chinen wasn’t even standing there.
“Sure, let’s go Kanna,” Chinen swung his arm over Kanna’s shoulder and lead her down the street. She nodded before shrugging his arm off her walking a little slower. Her gaze was focused on Ryosuke who was lagging behind, trying to comprehend the fact that Chinen had just walked away with Kanna. He smiled dorkily before jogging to catch up with her. The sidewalk wasn’t wide enough for the three of them to walk side by side, so Chinen was forced to walk ahead of Kanna and Ryosuke. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared down at the ground as he walked, trying to block out all of the giggles and laughter. He didn’t feel only left out, but absolute hatred toward the bond being formed between the two behind him. Kanna rarely showed anyone her more outgoing side. Even Ritsuko hadn’t seen it. Though Chinen realized she was showing less of her energy than he’s seen, he knew that she would end up becoming more and more open with him. Thinking about it, Chinen realized that her energetic side was probably from hanging around Yuto so much. He remembered that there were times where Yuto was so hyper that Chinen wanted to just tie him down to a chair and put duct tape over his mouth. He had a short flashback to the times where Kanna told him about all of her past pain. Honestly, anyone would end up hiding their true personality after going through so much. It didn’t help that Kanna had been so alone for most of her life either. The fact that Chinen had befriended Kanna and stuck by her without giving up, gave her the chance to let go her cold exterior and go back to the way she really was. Chinen tried to hide a smile because no matter whom this guy was Chinen was going to take the credit for bringing a part of the old Kanna back. That was something Chinen would always have over Ryosuke.
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Their evening practice was pretty much the same as usual; Ryosuke would show Kanna and Chinen and new part of the routine; Chinen would learn the dance quickly while Kanna would be a little slower at it; Ryosuke would always completely ignore Chinen and completely focus on Kanna; Ritsuko would always come to sit with Chinen, who by then was always leaning against one of the studio walls; She would always talk animatedly to him about the most random topics and he wouldn’t pay attention to her because of his intense glare towards the pair; Chinen would always note when Ryosuke pulled Kanna a little closer to him than he should of, or when his touch would linger on her waist, and he always managed to catch the smirk that was directed towards him. Chinen knew that Ryosuke caught onto his feelings and was now battling with him for Kanna’s attention. At the end of every single practice, Chinen would leave before the others. Ritsuko and Ryosuke would always follow suit, and Kanna was left to lock up the room and to go home. Chinen was neglecting the one he loved because his sight was clouded by jealousy. He didn’t even realize that he was leaving Kanna to walk all the way home alone along the dark and dangerous streets. Jealously was indeed an evil emotion.
Kanna was walking home, trying to make sure that she looked as if she were the most confident person in the world when in fact she just wanted to curl into a ball in fear. For some reason, the darks streets had started to scare her despite walking home alone so many times before. She remembered being told that you were supposed to look like you weren’t a venerable wreck in order to scare off any kidnappers or stalkers. They always went after the meek. The people who walked alone at night with their heads down or avoided the gaze of the people on the street where the ones who were always attacked; the ones whose bodies were found the next morning after being mutilated or raped. Kanna didn’t want to be like one of those people. It was why she was holding her head high and fiercely glaring at the other people on the street. She was giving off a vibe that she didn’t want to be messed with when in fact, she felt so lonely that she just wanted someone to walk by her side.
When Kanna got home, she threw her shoes onto the mat by the front door and flopped face down onto her bed. Not only was she wiped out from dance practice, but she hadn’t been sleeping very well for the past few days either. There was this constant thought pecking at her brain. She wondered why Chinen hadn’t walked her home again that night. He looked mad this time when he left the studio but Kanna couldn’t figure out why. Kanna debated sending a text to him in order to ask what was wrong, but she remembered that she didn’t even exchange numbers with him. She wondered if she should have called Yuto in order to get the number from him.
Kanna pulled her cell phone from her purse that was lying on the ground before dialing her brother’s phone number. She was looking around the room waiting for it to ring when she realized what time it was. It was past 10 pm and she knew that Yuto would definitely be asleep so right after the first ring she hung up hoping that she didn’t wake anyone up. She lay back down on her bed and scrolled through her contacts list before realizing that Chinen’s number was already saved there. She wondered when on earth she programmed it into her phone and thought she was going crazy because she couldn’t remember doing such a thing. She stared at the number wondering if she should actually go through with her plan. After all, it was okay for her to text him right? He was the one who liked her so much, so he wouldn’t right?
She realized Chinen was actually becoming a little distant from her and there was a part of her that missed him. Of course Kanna wasn’t going to admit to that though. She still had her hatred for men, for relationships, for love; she just couldn’t understand why she was left with such an unsettled feeling inside. She sighed before typing a message:
Are you alright Chii?
You left early again today…
Are you feeling okay?
By the way…how did your number
get saved into my phone?
She pressed the send button before deciding to go take a bath. Collecting her clothes and bath things, she picked up her cell phone before going into the bath. She sat at the edge of the tub staring at her phone in her hand, waiting to get a reply as the tub filled. After waiting for a little, she sighed, placing the phone down beside her before turning around to turn off the tap before shedding her clothes and stepping into the water. She sat with her chin rested on her folded arms staring at the device that was just lying there. Her eyes suddenly widened wondering why on earth she was so anxious for a reply. She let out another sigh. She closed her eyes and held her breath, dunking her head under the water and shaking it, hoping that she would be able to wash away the thoughts in her mind.
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Chinen was lying on his bed with his arms behind his head using them as a pillow when he got the text. He was staring up at the full glowing moon thinking about Kanna. His phone vibrated, but being deep in thought, he figured that he would just ignore it and check it later. His gaze shifted from the moon to take a quick glance at his cell phone when he realized that it was probably best to check to make sure there was no emergency. His eyes widened realizing that the message was from Kanna. He read through it before debating. Would it be best to tell Kanna that he was jealous? After all, she already knew that he liked her and if she hadn’t noticed how he felt then she was just oblivious to it all. It was a rare event that Kanna even sent messages to him. Maybe it was best to just write a normal message.
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Kanna was still in the bath when her phone rang loudly. She forgot to set it on silent mode and the sudden ringing in the silent house made her heart stop for a few seconds. She dried her hands on a nearby towel before picking it up and looking at the message sent back to her.
I’m fine. I just wasn’t feeling
well after practice >.<
don’t worry about me
As for my number…
I put it there of course :P
You shouldn’t leave
your phone lying around Kanna
people can steal it ;P
Kanna realized that there was a small smile on her face as she read the text. She felt somewhat relieved that he wasn’t angry with her or anything. Kanna couldn’t remember leaving her cell phone out in the open though. Whenever she put it down, it was only during the practices when they forgot the CD with their song on it. She quickly typed a reply to Chinen before getting out of the bathtub.
You stole it didn’t you ¬_¬
and I didn’t even get your number >.<
Unfair exchange!
Let’s exchange properly next time
we see each other nee?
I’m relieved that you’re okay
Feeling better? I hope so.
Our performance is only in a few more
weeks away! I’m so nervous…
what if I mess up?
Chinen’s reply made Kanna feel a little more relieved about having to dance in front of so many people. Honestly, she was feeling extremely anxious, especially when Ritsuko told her one day that the competition was going to have a live audience of a thousand people. She seemed a little too enthusiastic when she mentioned that on top of the thousand in the audience, the whole contest was going to be broadcasted on television.
Kanna you know the routine WAY
better than I do!
Don’t worry you’ll do fine ;D
You’ll have me standing on stage…dancing
with you ^-^
I’m getting lazy =.=
Going to call you ^-^
Kanna was holding her phone in one hand while trying to tug her pajama top over her head with the other as she read the message. Suddenly, just as she read the last line, her phone rang. She managed to answer the call in the midst of her struggle and she squeaked out a, “Hold on Chii” before pulling the shirt on fully.
“Sorry about that Chii,” she laughed weakly.
“You okay Kanna?” she could hear him chucking on the other end of the line.
“Yes…I just got caught in my t-shirt…” Kanna went to sit on her bed as she twisted a towel around her wet hair. “So what’s up Chii? Why’d you call?”
“Mmmm, no reason in particular. I just wanted to talk to you. I can’t sleep anyways. So you’re worried about our performance? You think we’re ready to go?” Chinen asked.
“I don’t know Chii… you said I know the routine better than you but I still think we should practice. I haven’t had much of a chance to actually dance with you…Ryo-chan’s been doing a lot of your parts and I want to get used to dancing with you. We haven’t put the singing and dancing yet together either…Maybe we should start practicing even more…” Kanna sounded unsure. Chinen smiled as he was talking to Kanna. So she noticed that Ryosuke was getting a little too close to her. “Do you…want to come over sometime Chii? I guess…we could practice at my apartment…It’s a little small space wise, but we could work on the dances without getting bothered…” His smile became even brighter. It was a chance for him to go to Kanna’s house without Ryosuke getting in the way.
“Sure, sounds like a plan! We can practice after…practice if you don’t mind me staying late…” Chinen silently prayed that Kanna would say ‘yes’. He wanted as much time as he could alone with her. The only available time they could meet was after their usual studio practices. The rest of their days were filled with school. They were lucky that they were both intelligent because if the hadn’t finished their homework everyday in class before school ended, they would have to do the assignments on top of practice.
“That’s alright Chii…but is it alright with you parents? I don’t want them to get angry at you for staying out so late…”
“Nope, it’s fine. My parents are all for this whole performance thing. They’ve been waiting for me to get a chance to perform on television. Remember how I told you my mom’s a dance teacher? Well…she’s been trying to convince me to sign up for tons of contests and stuff. I’ve just never wanted to…until I realized that you could dance, Kanna,” he yawned loudly and heard Kanna giggle. Chinen liked talked to her like this. He was glad that she could also talk to him normally. Even though Kanna still put on her cold, heartless exterior for other people, it made Chinen happy that her iciness melted whenever she was with him.
Kanna also felt comfortable talking to Chinen. She never really met any guy who wanted to try to become her friend. Most of the guys she ever talked recently only wanted to confess to her. Well… Chinen only talked to Kanna to confess to her too…but he still tried to actually get to know her.
They talked on the phone for about an hour before Kanna heard Chinen yawn loudly again. She tried to convince him that it was late and that he should go to sleep. Even though it was already half past 12, Chinen refused to hang up his phone. They continued to talk until Kanna realized that Chinen’s responses were started to sound slurred and made no sense. She quietly laughed to herself when the only answer she received from him became a quiet snore.
“Goodnight Chii,” she said quietly before hanging up her phone. Kanna placed her phone on her bedside table and stood up, positioning herself in the centre of her bedroom. She spun once before she went through the routine she had been practicing for months. The dance became like second nature for Kanna. She knew it like the back of her hand. Even though it was well past midnight, it wouldn’t hurt to practice a little more right? She was still feeling lively and figured a little physical activity would make her tired.
Kanna didn’t realize she was smiling to herself until she saw her reflection in the small mirror by her bed. What was she so happy about? Was she happy because she was going to spend time with Chinen? She spent practically every moment of her day with him with the exception of class. A yawn interrupted her thoughts and Kanna could feel her eyes starting to droop. She lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling before sleep took over.
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Kanna’s morning went by the same way as usual. She walked alongside Chinen who slowly biked his way to school, she tried to avoid the stares that she got from all the students making their way into the building, she was greeted by a overly energetic Ritsuko, she was escorted to her class by Chinen who patted her on the head and then something unexpected happened. The second Kanna turned around to walk into class, she bumped into the person standing behind her. She turned around to apologize when she realized that she was face to face with Ryosuke.
“Sorry Ryo-chan! Eh? Ryo-chan!?” Kanna’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock.
“Morning Kanna, guess what? As of today, I’m going to be in your class!” he said excitedly with a beaming smile. As Kanna was gaping at Ryosuke, Chinen was standing behind her with an expression that matched. His look of shock suddenly turned into a glare when he saw Ryosuke snake an arm around a stunned Kanna’s shoulders, leading her into class and smirking at his victory.
Chinen’s hands clenched into fists once again until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He was about to punch whoever had the idea of interrupting his fuming thoughts when he realized that Ritsuko was the one who was behind him.
“G-good m-morning Chinen-san…” she said quietly with a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.
“Morning,” Chinen answered quickly through his clenched teeth before marching off to his classroom. With his eyes clouded by jealousy, he failed to realize the frown that graced Ritsuko’s lips and they way she walked to class with her head lowered and her feet dragging.
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The rest of the day carried out like usual. Kanna, Chinen and Ritsuko would spend their breaks on the school’s rooftop except that now Ryosuke joined them. They practiced their performance for as long as they could and this time, Kanna actually suggested that Ryosuke let Chinen dance with her from then on. Chinen smiled knowing that this time, he won against his rival. Ritsuko watched with envious eyes from the sidelines as Kanna and Chinen danced together. She admired the way that they swayed perfectly together. It had been a while since she had seen Kanna and Chinen dance together and yet, the distance that was once between them noticeably lessened. There was something different about the dance when it was between them as opposed to Kanna and Ryosuke. Ritsuko envied whatever relationship Kanna had with Chinen, even though she always claimed that there was nothing between them. Ritsuko could remember the first time that she watched Ryosuke and Kanna dance. Even with the extremely limited dance experience she had, Ritsuko could tell that Kanna and Chinen were truly a better pair.
Before the bell rang, Ryosuke was talking to Kanna about a math problem he needed help with. Of course it was just another plot to drag her away from Chinen again. The way the Ryosuke was leaning just a little too close to Kanna going through the question in his textbook made Chinen tense. Again, Chinen felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Ritsuko with an English textbook and a pencil in her hand.
“Chinen-san…could you help me with my English? I’m not very good at it …” It was rare to see such a calm Ritsuko. What she didn’t know was that Chinen hated English. He often questioned why he was forced to learn the language because he was Japanese and would never need it. Chinen glanced back at Ryosuke and Kanna and then back to Ritsuko who was standing in front of him.
“Sorry Amano-san, I’m not good at English,” he said politely before leaving to talk to Kanna. Ritsuko looked at the ignored book in her hands. She looked back up to her three friends sitting against the wall before her gaze settled on Kanna. She was jealous that Chinen cared about Kanna so much more than her. She hid her frown before walking over to the group and heard them talking about their plans for practice. Chinen decided that he could use this chance to show Ryosuke that Kanna was his.
“So, we’re still on for tonight right Kanna?” he asked, stealing glances at Ryosuke to gauge his reaction.
Ritsuko decided to cut in, “What plans? How come I didn’t hear about any plans? Are you two leaving me and Ryosuke?” she added a pout.
“No Ritsuko-chan…we’re just planning to go to my house after practice so we can just polish some of the dance…” Kanna replied quietly.
“Really? Can I come to help you two? PLEEEAAASSSEEE KAN-CHAN????~~~” she pleaded in her usual tone.
“Umm…sure I guess? I have to warn you that my apartment is really small though…” Kanna sounded unsure. There was a part of her that wanted to practice with only Chinen around. Then Ryosuke spoke up.
“If you two are practicing your dance, is it alright if I tag along? You may need my help after all.” In truth, Ryosuke just couldn’t stand the thought of Chinen being at Kanna’s house. He tried to hide the smile on his face when he saw Chinen’s head whip around to face him, his two eyes narrowing into a glare. Ryosuke wouldn’t lose so easily.
“Ummm…I guess it’s alright…” Chinen gave an apologetic look towards her. Their practice was only meant to be between them and yet everyone was tagging along. Chinen regretted opening his big mouth because now, Ryosuke was probably going to take over their practice again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At their usual studio practice that night, Chinen and Kanna had the chance to dance together again. They started to add in the singing with their routine and the performance piece was becoming quite polished. After finishing a run-through of the song, Kanna noticed that Ritsuko was standing in front of a piece of paper on the wall with her eyes opened wide and her jaw hanging open. Upon closer inspection, she could see Ritsuko was staring at a calendar.
“Kan-chan…Ryo-chan….Chinen-san….You guys all know that the competition is this…” she paused and gulped. “THIS Saturday?” Kanna’s eyes widened in surprise and also looked at the calendar. Ritsuko was right. Throughout all their days of practice, they hadn’t realized how fast the days went by. They only had the rest of that week to practice before Kanna and Chinen would be put on stage in front of the thousands in both the studio and television audiences.
Ryosuke, as usual, took over the practice. He continued to coach Chinen on how to perfect his movements and continued to steal Kanna from him. Chinen was starting to become irritated earlier than usual except that this time, there was no way that he could escape because running away would mean that he couldn’t go to Kanna’s after practice. All he could really do was sit there and clench both his teeth and fists to prevent him from attacking his love rival.
Ritsuko went to sit beside Chinen. She tried to make small talk again.
“So Chinen-san, are you nervous for your performance? You don’t look like you are…” she asked quietly, looking at Chinen with a blush on her face.
“No, not really. I’ll be fine because Kanna will on stage with me. I think instead about worrying over me being nervous, we should be worried about Kanna,” he chuckled thinking about the way she sounded so panicked during one of their late night conversations of the phone.
“Oh…I guess so…Nee Chinen-san…is it okay if I call you ‘Chii’ too? Kan-chan calls you that right?” she continued to try to keep their conversation going.
“I…guess it’s okay…” Chinen’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t paying much attention to what Ritsuko was saying. He was more concerned with the fact that Ryosuke had just leaned in to whisper something into Kanna’s ear making her giggle at his words. He was slightly confused when a bright smile came across Ritusko’s face.
“REALLY? It’s okay?! Yay~!” she stood up and threw her arms around Chinen. Realizing that she probably just embarrassed herself, she sat back down next to Chinen blushing a shade darker than before. “Sorry Chii…”
At the same time Kanna turned around to see the source of the high pitched squeal, she saw Ritsuko hugging what was supposed to be her dance partner. There was a slight pang felt in her chest seeing them together and the way that Ritsuko blushed when she realized what she did. She smiled slightly remembering Ritsuko’s crush on Chinen. Kanna was a little glad that Ritsuko was getting the chance to spend time with him. She heard Ritsuko call him “Chii” as she was apologizing to him. She never knew that they were that close. Kanna was staring at them and didn’t realize that she had crossed her foot over Ryosuke’s. When she took a step, she was sent flying forwards and fell onto the hardwood floor. Ryosuke was shocked by Kanna’s sudden trip that he had no time to catch her.
Chinen immediately bounced up from his sitting position and ran to help Kanna up. Ritsuko watched as Ryosuke also ran to her aid. The two teens each had one of Kanna’s hands and were hoisting her to her feet. Ritsuko watched as she giggled to herself while rubbing her nose which she knocked on the floor when she fell. Instead of going to help her, she just remained sitting against the wall, now with a frown on her face. She started to hate how her friend was stealing Chinen’s attention. Kanna said that Ritsuko could have him and yet she was still pulling him in. Ritsuko thought that Kanna already had Ryosuke. On top of that, what happened to Kanna’s nickname “The Heartless Witch”? The hearts of neither Chinen nor Ryosuke were broken. She hadn’t even pushed them away! She watched as Kanna had a normal conversation with both boys giggling when one of them said something funny. She looked too happy with Chinen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The four students were walking to Kanna’s apartment after practice. Ryosuke was walking on Kanna’s left while Chinen was on her right, walking slightly behind the pair. Ritsuko was walking behind the whole group. To be honest, she wasn’t feeling like her usual energetic self. She tried multiple attempts to get Chinen’s attention but failed miserably. Ritsuko remembered when they were leaving the studio.
~Flashback~
“It’s gotten cold nee…” Kanna said quietly as she left the warmth of the studio and walked into the cool breezy evening. She pulled at her jacket trying to wrap it around her petit body. Kanna felt a weight around her shoulders and looked up to see that Chinen was wrapping his jacket around her. “Chii…you’re going to catch a cold…” she tried to shake the jacket from her shoulders when he pulled it even tighter around her.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,” he smiled to her before they started walking. Ritsuko looked at the slight shiver that went through Chinen’s body and an idea popped into her head.
“Chii, you must be so cold! Here, I’ll help keep you warm~” Ritsuko wrapped her arms around Chinen’s hoping that her body warmth would help him. She blushed slightly from the proximity.
“No, it’s alright Amano-san. I’m okay.” Chinen shrugged off Ritsuko’s arm and dug his hands into his pockets. Ritsuko saw him trying to wrap his arm around Kanna’s shoulders but she pushed away his hand forcing him to walk as he was before. Ryosuke was standing next to Ritsuko glaring at the couple that was walking away before deciding that it was best if he caught up with them.
“Let’s go Ritsuko-chan. You don’t want to be left behind do you?” Ryosuke beckoned her to follow after the group. Since it was almost dark and Ritsuko didn’t even know the way to Kanna’s house, she knew that she should hurry or else she would be left behind.
~End of Flashback~
Ritsuko was so focused on her three friends in front of her that Ritsuko didn’t notice that the sidewalk wasn’t level. Her foot was caught on the bump and she fell forwards. She put her arms out to catch herself and winced as she felt the concrete scrape against the palms of her hands and her knee. When she looked up, Ritsuko could see that her three friends had turned around and only Kanna was rushing to her side.
“Are you okay Ritsuko-chan? You’re bleeding!” she gasped when she saw Ritsuko’s scraped knee. Before she knew it, Kanna had already placed a Hello Kitty bandage over the scrape and was offering her an outstretched hand. As she was helped up, Ritsuko could only notice that Chinen hadn’t made a move towards her. Earlier that day, Chinen practically ran to help Kanna even though Ryosuke had been standing less than two feet away from her. She sighed to herself before continuing to walk along with her head hung low. Every now and then she would look up to make sure that she was still following Kanna only to see the three of them chatting animatedly. She also never failed to notice the way that Chinen had been smiling towards Kanna. Ritsuko silently promised herself one thing at that point. If Chinen wasn’t paying attention to her, she would just have to steal his attention by taking away the distraction. And that distraction was Kanna.
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The practice at Kanna’s house went smoothly at first. Ritsuko had taken a seat next to Ryosuke on the couch as he coached Kanna and Chinen on their dance. She was still envious of Kanna for the way that she could be held by him. Ritsuko was unskilled in dance so she knew there was no way that she could be like Kanna. Their personalities were also completely different. Kanna was quiet, cold, shy, and rarely made friends. The only people she even communicated with were in that room, who knew if they were even friends. She on the other hand was loud, outgoing, positive and was always surrounded by people. She was friends with practically everyone in her class. Secretly, the only reason Ritsuko decided to become friends with Kanna was to get closer to Chinen. She would never forget the day that she saw them on the same bike and running around the school holding hands. She knew the rumors that surrounded Kanna. She knew that no one wanted to be friends with the person who shied away from the crowds. She knew that everyone was amazed that Chinen had become close to someone who was such an alien.
Before they knew it, it was already past nine o’clock. They all had school the next day and decided that it was best for them to leave Kanna’s to go home. It was already dark outside and Ryosuke offered to take Ritsuko home since it was in the same direction. Obviously he didn’t really care about Ritsuko because on the way home he walked at a pace much faster than her. He didn’t even try to match her walking pace. Anyone could have come up from behind and taken her and Ryosuke wouldn’t have noticed.
Back at Kanna’s house, Chinen and Kanna were surrounded in silence. Kanna suggested that they practice the routine once more since both Ryosuke and Ritsuko had left them alone. After finishing their dance, Kanna walked Chinen to the end of the steps outside of her apartment building. She looked up at the sky and realized that the moon was full.
“It’s so pretty…” she whispered to herself. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to send Chinen off but when she looked at him, he was gazing up at the moon as well. “Chii?” she called to get his attention and smiled when she saw him shake his head to pull himself out of his mesmerized state.
“Sorry I zoned out there…Well goodnight Kanna,” he said giving her a pat on the head before walking away.
“Night Chii…Be careful on your way home okay?” she called out to him, hoping that he heard her. She knew that he had when she saw his arm fly into the air as if he were waving away her worries. Kanna turned around to walk back into her house. Looking around the empty room made her feel a little lonely. She went to sit on her bed staring at a spot on the wall as she let her thoughts wander. They only had four more days until the competition and they were pretty much prepared. Kanna felt nervous and excited at the same time. She didn’t like that she was going to be watched by so many people and yet, wanted to show off how much she loved her talents.
Kanna was also worried about Ryosuke. They were becoming closer and closer weren’t they? Kanna noticed that Chinen was becoming a little distant from her as well. Maybe Chinen didn’t like Ryosuke… After all they were always competing. Kanna noticed the glares that they always sent each other and that they hid their hatred for each other when she was watching. Maybe Chinen didn’t like her anymore. Kanna remembered the day that she met Chinen and the promise he made to her. He said that he would never give up on his love for her didn’t he? The way that Chinen always ran away from their practices when Ryosuke took over made Kanna think otherwise. She shrugged off the feeling she had when she felt her eyes slowly closing and her body aching. She went to take a bath before lying on her bed and drifting into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kanna, Chinen and Ryosuke were sitting on the school roof enjoying the warm summery air during break when they heard the quick pitter patter of footsteps that were slowly growing louder. The door was opened with enough force to knock the door off its hinges as it smashed against the wall, causing all three relaxing students to jump in shock. They say Ritsuko running through the door with a piece of paper in hand. Kanna saw the paper and slightly braced herself, knowing that she would be the subject to Ritsuko’s excitement. Just as she predicted, Ritsuko ran towards a sitting Kanna and knocked her backwards into Ryosuke. Chinen sighed before he went to help the two girls stand again and watching as Ryosuke got to his feet on his own.
“You’ve got to be more careful Amano-san. You could really hurt someone,” Chinen reprimanded. “So what is it this time?”
“LOOK! A HAUNTED HOUSE!!! CAN WE GO PLEAAASSSEEE???” she flashed her puppy-dog eyes. In reality, Ritsuko wanted a chance to cling onto Chinen. She wasn’t exactly afraid of ghosts, spirits and the like, but she was an excellent actress which would make it easy for her to pretend to be frightened.
“The competition’s in a few days Ritsuko-chan…” Kanna didn’t like the idea of visiting a haunted house. She had always been anxious when even thinking about that bump in the night or the monster in her closet when she was younger. She hated the idea of people touching her or attempting to jump out to scare her. She remembered the times where Yuto would surprise her and she ended up crying out of fear. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if we’re skipping out on practice…”
“Maybe we should go…after all, we’ve been working so hard for the past few months and it’d be nice to take a break and have some fun,” Ryosuke tried to convince Kanna that they should go. He could see Kanna’s discomfort and assumed that she was like all the other girls who were absolutely terrified of haunted houses. He tried to hide a smile as he imagined the opportunity he’d have to show Kanna that he could protect her.
Chinen stood there unsure of which side to take. He also liked the idea of showing Kanna that he wasn’t afraid of anything and the possibility of Kanna clutching on his arm in fear. He looked at Kanna and also saw her look of uncertainty. He knew that it wouldn’t be fair to force Kanna to go somewhere she didn’t want to go. He wanted to speak up and cancel the plans, but he also knew that they were all under the stress of the competition. Chinen figured that going to the haunted house would be a good way to relieve the pressure that would soon break them all and so he spoke up. “It sounds like a good idea! Why don’t we go?” he smiled before moving a little closer to Kanna to whisper to her quietly. “It’s alright Kanna. If you don’t feel comfortable in the haunted house you can always hold onto me,” he winked to her when she gave him a ‘what the hell are you talking about’ look. Ritsuko and Ryosuke glared at the two when they heard Chinen chuckle at Kanna’s expression.
“So I guess it’s settled then?” Kanna said quietly, silently hoping that they would change their minds. She was let down then both Ryosuke and Ritsuko answered with nods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kanna knew she regretted walking into that haunted house. She was currently clinging onto Ritsuko’s arm knowing that she wouldn’t be able to stand being so close to either Ryosuke or Chinen under these circumstances. Ritsuko was currently hugging onto Chinen’s arm while Ryosuke walked alongside Kanna trying to convince her to hold onto him.
Kanna could have stayed outside and just waited. But no, she just had to fell guilty once both Chinen and Ryosuke refused to go into the haunted house without her. And so, here she was, her arm linked with Ritsuko as she had her eyes closed and her hands over her ears. She silently wished that the whole adventure would be over soon.
Chinen wished that he had Kanna on his arm instead of Ritsuko except to matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t free himself from her grasp. He could hear the screams and whimpers coming from Kanna which made him want to just pull her into his arms to protect her. These kinds of haunted houses didn’t scare Chinen. He would jump in shock ever now and then when people in masks jumped out at him, but he wasn’t as frightened as Kanna was. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ryosuke who also looked a little nervous in the haunted house. He smiled to himself knowing that he had won this battle.
Ritsuko was happy that she had Chinen in her arms. This was the one chance that she could hold onto him without question and was glad that she had found the ad for the haunted house in the newspaper. What Ritsuko wasn’t too ecstatic about was the fact that Kanna was holding onto her. She wondered why Kanna couldn’t just hold onto Ryosuke. After all, he was practically begging her to stay close to him. Secretly, Ritsuko wanted Kanna to let go of her so she could run ahead with Chinen so they could be alone but no matter what she did, Kanna wouldn’t let go of her. Seeing how frightened she was also hit a soft spot in Ritsuko’s heart which made her not want to leave her friend even if that friend was her love rival.
Ryosuke wished that Kanna would just forget about Chinen and hold onto him even though it was obvious that she was a little preoccupied with not fainting more than trying to stay with Chinen. He was a little nervous being in the haunted house. Ryosuke was terrible with ghost stories and other things that he couldn’t physically see. Horror mangas didn’t bother him and haunted houses shouldn’t either. Yet for some reason, there was a shiver that went down his back every time he looked at the decorations in the house. There were huge blood splatters on the walls, dummies holding cleavers in one hand and decapitated heads in the other, masked monsters and to top it all off, the floors were covered in a think cloud of fog and eerie music was playing. What made the whole experience worse was hearing the odd blood curdling scream every few minutes. He was looking at the faces of his friends. His eyes narrowed when he looked at Chinen who looked like the haunted house was boring him.
As Ryosuke was looking at Kanna again, a masked man suddenly jumped out and wrapped his arms around Kanna from behind. Both Ryosuke and Ritsuko’s hearts stopped in shock and they started to run. Ritsuko was still clinging to Chinen and he was dragged along with them. Kanna’s arm had come loose from Ritsuko’s and she was left in the grasps of the masked man who was growling lowly. She let out a scream before the man let go of her. She could hear him chuckling even though she had her eyes closed, her ears covered and crouched closed to the ground. She let out a whimper as she heard the man leaving her alone to go scare some other people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three of them made it outside of the haunted house panting hard. Ritsuko and Ryosuke started to laugh thinking about how scared they had gotten. Chinen watched the two of them laughing and he himself had a slight smile on his face. That is, until he realized that Kanna wasn’t there. He remembered back to the haunted house where the masked man had appeared and grabbed her. His heart sank thinking about how scared Kanna was as they were walking through the horror house. He looked around the exit of the haunted house absolutely terrified when he couldn’t find her. Chinen raced back into the haunted house through the exit and was stopped by a maintenance man who told him to go back to the entrance. Chinen ran around the building as fast as he could and pushed past the people in the line.
At the same time, Ryosuke also realized that Kanna was missing. He told Ritsuko to stay put while he went to find Kanna. Looking around the building, he noticed that the maintenance man had made Chinen go back to the beginning of the haunted house and so Ryosuke looked for an alternative. He searched around the building and found a door that led into the house. He had to run up a flight of stairs before reaching the inside of the haunted house. Luckily, Kanna was curled in a ball only a few feet away from the door that Ryosuke entered through. He ran to Kanna’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched in surprise and he could hear her sob even harder. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to lead Kanna out of the house the normal way, he picked her up bridal-style. She started to kick and thrash about thinking that another masked man had come to abuse her until she heard Ryosuke’s voice.
“Kanna! Calm down! It’s me Ryosuke!” he said as he carried her out the door he entered through, down the stairs and out of the house. In the light, Ryosuke could see that Kanna was crying and her eyes were red and swollen. The colour had disappeared from her face and she looked like she was about to pass out. He put her down and led her over to Ritsuko who apologized repeatedly for letting her go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chinen had run through the whole haunted house and he couldn’t find Kanna. He exited the building hoping that he could ask for help from one of the staff when he noticed that Kanna was already with Ryosuke and Ritsuko. Even from the distance she could she that she was crying.
Chinen ran over to the group and immediately pulled Kanna into his arms, letting her bury her face into his shirt. He felt her flinch from the shock but just continued to sob.
“I’m so sorry Kanna…” he whispered to her.
Ryosuke suddenly pulled Kanna away from Chinen and put his arms protectively around her.
“Good job Chinen-san. You left Kanna-chan all alone in that haunted house. Look how scared she is,” he said haughtily. “It’s a good thing I found her first,” he moved closer to Chinen and whispered in his ear. “She’ll definitely like me much better than you now. And if she becomes…I mean when she becomes my girlfriend. By the way, Kanna’s a great kisser” he smirked. Even though Ryosuke was lying, he knew he had angered Chinen and that made him happy. Many thoughts ran through Chinen’s head. He was furious. He honestly didn’t know who to believe because he knew that Kanna was such an anti-lover that she would never resort to such a thing. Yet she had been all alone with Ryosuke and who knows what he could have done to her. Before he knew what he was doing, a punch landed on Ryosuke’s face. Ryosuke was knocked backwards from the sheer force of the impact. He looked up to see Chinen breathing heavily with his hand in a fist.
“Damn you! I wasn’t the only one who left her! How dare you even touch her like that you bastard!” Chinen yelled at Ryosuke who was on the ground holding his cheek. Kanna had stopped sobbing and she started at Chinen. Ritsuko was so shocked that she too was frozen in place.
Ryosuke suddenly got up and pushed Chinen onto the ground. He straddled him holding a fist above his face. Chinen tried to push him away but his cheek was met by a punch. Using all of his strength, Chinen rolled to the side and Ryosuke fell onto the hard pavement. He stood to his feet panting as he felt his lip bleeding, his nose throbbing and he wondered if it was broken or not. Ryosuke suddenly stood up and attacked Chinen again. Punches were thrown again and Ryosuke, who was lying on the ground, punched the back of his knee causing him to topple over. Ryosuke used Chinen’s drop in guard as a chance to pick him up and throw him against a nearby wall. He had pinned him to the wall and beat him mercilessly. Suddenly, Kanna pulled Ryosuke away from a nearly unconscious Chinen and stood between them.
“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” she screamed. When they both dropped their fists she stared at them in utter amazement. “Why would you two fight like that? Aren’t you friends?”
“Why the hell would I want to be friends with that bastard!?” Chinen yelled, directing his comment towards Ryosuke. He wobbled, looking like he was about to fall unconscious and yet he was still feisty enough to spit insults at his enemy.
“You’re just jealous because I’m the one who saved Kanna-san and that you were too stupid and slow to find an alternate entrance. You could have found her you know. If you were as smart as me that is,” Ryosuke said as-a-matter-of-factly. Chinen suddenly stumbled toward Ryosuke again and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down to meet his intense glare.
“Don’t you dare think that you’re better than me,” he growled before throwing Ryosuke backwards onto the pavement with all the strength he had left. He was about to attack him again when Kanna pushed him backwards. She stood in front of Ryosuke with her arms spread wide.
“I told you to stop it Chii! What’s wrong with you?! Ryo-chan actually helped me and yet you’re beating him up? Why? If you have something against him fine. But that doesn’t mean you have to attack him!” Kanna yelled at Chinen trying to stop him from hurting Ryosuke even more. He already multiple bruises on his face, his lip was cracked and bleeding, he was punched in the eye which would soon turn black and blue and there were scratches all over his arms from falling on the pavement. Even though Chinen was small, the damage he caused was scary.
What angered Chinen most was that Kanna was protecting this guy. He didn’t deserve her sympathy especially because Ryosuke was just trying to get close to her to steal her from Chinen. Chinen could tell that Ryosuke didn’t care for Kanna’s well-being as much as he did and yet, here he was in an even worse condition than Ryosuke and she had all of her attention on protecting his rival. Yes, Chinen hit Ryosuke many times, but he was much stronger and the force of his punches hurt a lot more. Chinen’s eye was already black and swollen, he had three cuts on his cheeks, one of his knees were scraped open and there was blood slowly dripping down his leg, his knuckles and back were bruised, he had a fat lip that was bleeding and he was walking with a limp. His mind travelled back to what Ryosuke said about kissing Kanna. He still couldn’t believe it. He thought that Kanna would be much angrier with Ryosuke and yet, here she was standing up for him. He knew that once he vowed to stay by Kanna’s side, he would possibly face feelings that would never be reciprocated because he fell for someone who refused to fall in love. To hear that Kanna kissed Ryosuke made Chinen think that she loved the enemy and his feelings would remain unrequited. He knew that men weren’t supposed to cry and that by crying he’d be letting Ryosuke have his victory. Chinen decided to quit while he was ahead and to hurry away from the judgmental eyes of society.
“Whatever. I’m going home,” Chinen turned around and started to leave. Kanna debated calling out to him and trying to convince him to stay with them, but she feared that another fight would start between the two guys. All she could do was tend to Ryosuke’s wounds and sigh as she watched Chinen’s silhouette disappear as he walked further and further away.
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Kanna went home alone that night after refusing Ryosuke’s offer to walk her home. She tried to text Chinen again that night except that she got no reply. She thought that he could have been busy or that he had fallen asleep and decided to wait for an hour to see if he would text her back. Luckily Chinen messaged her back shortly after. Kanna didn’t understand why, but she agreed with his decision. She put her phone on her bedside table before closing her eyes and going to sleep.
Don’t worry about what happened today
Yeah, I’ve got a few batters and bruises
but I’m okay
Promise me you won’t bring it up again until the
competition’s over okay?
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And because my post is too long click Here for the next part please~