The next day at school Natsumi wandered through the halls during lunch. The rain had persisted throughout the night so the benches where she usually sat were still wet. She carried her lunch bag behind her and sighed as she looked through the window at the grey clouds still lingering in the sky.
"Why the strange look Kimoto?"
She jumped and turned around to see Ryuu walking towards her, holding his bag over his shoulder with his other hand in his pocket. She turned to face him and gave him a soft smile. After he had left her at her apartments last night she had spent many hours fretting over what he said. Eventually she came to the conclusion that she would continue to be herself and that a friendship with Ryuu wasn't such a bad idea. Even though he was really frustrating at times, she had decided that she enjoyed his company more than she first thought.
"I was just wondering where to sit for lunch. My bench was still wet and the ground was too muddy to walk across, so I was just wandering aimlessly." She said and he raised a brow at her, tilting his head.
"You don't seem like the type to do anything 'aimlessly'." He said and she pouted at him.
"I'm allowed to relax every once in awhile." She countered as she started walking down the hall, Ryuu at her side as he followed her. He shot her a grin,
"I have a feeling your idea of relaxing is with your nose in some study book." He said and she frowned at him.
"And yours is to find some poor soul and torment them...slowly." She countered and he chuckled softly. She found that the sound took some getting used to, but she was starting to like hearing it. Ryuu looked more approachable when he let his face soften and smile. She did wonder though what a full laugh would sound like...probably unnatural and weird. She giggled at that thought and he gave her a strange look.
"So do you want to go to the library?" She asked and he shrugged. She sighed and looked around them. It was at this point that she caught the gaze of a small group of girls standing on the opposite side of the hall. They were shooting icy glares at her and although she was used to those kinds of looks, there seemed to be some deeper, negative emotion behind their glares. She turned away from them and shrugged, deciding it wasn't anything worth worrying about.
Ryuu tugged on the sleeve of her shirt to stop her from walking on. She looked up and he nodded his head at the closed door next to them. He slid it open without another word and walked in. Natsumi frowned, but followed out of curiosity. The room was empty and she watched as he sat at the corner desk and pulled out his usual book. Natsumi smiled and sat her bag down, but she took the desk next to him and pushed it so that it was facing his.
He watched her with a weird, questioning look. She sat down and put her lunch bag on the desk. As she pulled out her sandwich and soda she was aware of the fact that he was looking at her with an amused expression. She looked up and frowned.
"What?" She asked and he chuckled.
"No strawberries Kimoto?"
She blushed slightly and turned away from his stare. She took an angry bite of her sandwich and chewed it with more force than necessary.
"I don't always have to have them with me you know." She growled and he raised a brow in disbelief. She didn't react fast enough as he grabbed the brown bag and reached in. She tried to retrieve it, but he leaned back and kept it out of reach. He grinned in triumph when he pulled out the small container and held it up with a knowing look.
"Just admit you have a problem and we can get you into some help group." He teased as she tried to pry the sweets from him. He grinned and leaned back as he opened the container, revealing the tiny strawberries nestled inside.
"Okay...You've proven your point. Now give them back Ryuu-san!" She whined as she tried to swipe the container from him. He shrugged and picked up one of the little fruits by the green end and grinned at her.
"I think it is my duty as your new friend to help you overcome this addiction." He said and she blushed at the way he said friend and shot her a knowing look. He was still teasing her for her miscalculation last night on their walk home. She groaned and tried to stop him, but he put the strawberry to his lips and bit through, down to the stem. Natsumi pouted as he made a show of chewing and flicked the stem over to her desk.
"These ones seem particularly sweet." He rubbed in and Natsumi glared daggers at him. She puffed out her cheeks and ground out.
"Enough already Ryuu-san! I'll share them with you if you want some, but give them back." She begged and he shook his head as he picked up another strawberry.
"This is for your own good Kimoto." He said and ate the strawberry. She growled and jumped out of her seat, trying to lean across the desks at him. But he was still tall enough sitting down to lean back and stretch his arm away. He was chuckling, completely amused as he watched her struggle so hard just for some fruit, at this point she had one knee on her desk to gain more ground. She groaned and finally focused her gaze off the container and on the red eyes of the boy holding it captive. He was smiling at her and it caught her off guard. It wasn't a slanted grin or a smirk. This was a full smile and it made him look-
"AH!" She shouted as she slipped and the fact that she was already leaning so far forward pushed her across the desks and into his chest, knocking him back. Ryuu didn't have enough time to balance himself as he had been leaning back on the chair's back legs. The two tumbled backwards and Natsumi closed her eyes to brace against the impact. She felt something strong wrap around her back as they shifted to the right.
Ryuu groaned as he hit the floor, but he was grateful that he had been able to avoid hitting his head on the desk behind them. Natsumi opened her eyes a peek and blushed as she realized she was being held against Ryuu's chest. His arm was wrapped around her lower back still, but not as tightly as when they had fallen. She lifted herself up, pushing against his chest and making him groan again as he hissed,
"Get off!"
"Sorry!" She said and threw herself to the side, sitting on the floor and watching as Ryuu lifted himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed the top of his head, ruffling the orange locks gently.
"Seriously you freak. They're just strawberries." He growled in annoyance and Natsumi's cheeks flamed up brighter in humiliation. She leapt up to her feet, hands fisted as she lashed out in embarrassment.
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"Well if you hadn't been such a jerk about it this wouldn't have happened!" She turned and grabbed her school bag before storming out of the classroom.
Ryuu watched her stomp off from his spot on the floor, frowning. Why was she the one that was upset? He was the one that had landed on the floor, taking the full force of the fall. He ran his fingers through his hair, shifting the strands to the right and out of his eyes.
He glanced behind him to see red dots littering the floor where the fruit had scattered. He sighed and lifted himself up. He picked up his bag and placed his book back inside, deciding to also retrieve the container. He would return it to Mrs. Kimoto after school. He cast one more glance at the strawberries as he remembered how angry Kimoto had looked. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his phone.
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Natsumi was still a bit unhappy with Ryuu and his stunt at lunch, but over the remainder of the day she had cooled off and acknowledged that it had been partially her fault too. He shouldn't have stolen her snack, but he had just been playing around. She was the unlucky one that had tumbled over into him.
She lifted her head up, deciding the best thing for her to do now was to apologize to Ryuu for shouting at him. She turned the corner where her locker was and was surprised to see said devil leaning against the lockers as he waited for her. When he glanced over and saw it was her he gave a small grin and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Natsumi gave him a smile in return and walked up next to him.
"Hi. Look Ryuu-san...about lunch and...well I'm sorry I yelled." She muttered, not understanding why she felt nervous. Probably because she was slightly afraid that he would take back what he said last night about being friends. She would never admit it out loud, but she had started warming up to the idea of having one. He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Don't worry about it. I guess I shouldn't have taken them. But I think this proves my point." He said and it was her turn to cross her arms.
"What point?" She asked. He grinned wider then and chuckled.
"You my friend. Have a serious addiction." He teased and she puffed out her ceeks, but couldn't deny the elation that he had called her 'friend'. She rolled her eyes and turned to retrieve her shoes as she muttered,
"Okay...Maybe I have a small problem."
"Small?" He asked with a raised brow And she growled at him.
"Don't push it..."
He chuckled again as she finished slipping on her shoes and placed her school shoes in the locker. When she had straightened herself again he pushed off the lockers and the two walked out to the street together.
"Um...Ryuu-san?" She mumbled, glancing at him briefly before her embarrassment got to her and she had to look away again. He frowned at the worried look on her face as she tried to force the words out. She couldn't fight the fact that, for once...she cared if someone rejected her.
"Um...About what you said last night...well...were you being...were you serious about that? Do you really want to be friends?" She asked, finally looking up at him so that he saw the fear/hope in her bright brown eyes. His eyes widened a fraction before his face returned to normal as he grinned. He surprised her by placing his hand on her head briefly before removing it again. It was only there for a few seconds and he didn't move beyond that simple touch, but it gave her the answer she needed as he grinned down at her.
"You're such a weirdo Kimoto." He said and she laughed in response.
"Maybe, but you aren't much better."
"I have no idea what you mean." He said and she giggled. She felt lighter for some reason, wondering if it was because in a strange way, she wasn't so alone anymore.
"Ryuu-san?" She said and he rolled his eyes, groaning.
"Yes Kimoto. You are my friend. Although if you keep bothering me about it I might-"
"Calm down jerk. I was just going to ask that you not call me Kimoto anymore." She said and he blinked, staring at her oddly once more as if questioning where her brain had gone.
"Why?" He asked and she shrugged, jumping forward and swinging around to smile back at him.
"If we're really going to be friends then you don't need to be so formal."She said and he rolled his eyes.
"So you want me to start calling you Natsumi?" He asked and she nodded adamantly. He scratched the back of his head and looked up at the sky.
"I'll think about it." He muttered, but it was enough for her. She figured that he would deny her request, so she was happy to even have him consider it. She returned to walking by his side and didn't continue pushing him. For now...
Natsumi smiled as she looked up at the sky, happy to see the clouds had moved on, giving way to blue once more. Neither said anything else during their journey to her home, but she didn't mind. The two were walking in silence, but for once it was a comfortable silence.
When they entered the gate of her apartments and she started to head for the elevator he grabbed her wrist stopping her. Natsumi looked up at him curiously as his eyes bore into her.
"We can take the stairs if you want." He said and her eyes widened. Was Ryuu...Was he actually thinking about her feelings right now? The thought made her smile widen as she shook her head.
"It's alright Ryuu-san. I may not like the metal box, but I won't make you climb that many stairs. I'll be okay, but it's sweet that you would think of me like that." She said and he actually snorted, averting his eyes as he grumbled,
"Don't call me sweet."
Natsumi laughed as she pushed the button calling the elevator back to the first floor. She pretended not to notice when he scratched the back of his neck, trying to use his arm to hide the pink tinting his face. The two stepped in, climbing to the third floor.
"Is that you honey?" Her mom called as soon as they came through the door.
"Yeah mom, it's me and Ryuu."
"Good, then maybe one of you could explain this?" Her mom laughed and it made Natsumi pause as she pulled off her shoes. She frowned, wondering what was amusing her mother so much. She walked down the hall and turned the corner into the kitchen and her mouth almost hit the floor.
Sitting in the center of the kitchen island was a large arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries. Natsumi came closer to see that each strawberry had a unique design in white chocolate so that no two were the same. And there had to be at least fifty different strawberries! She turned her large brown eyes to where Ryuu was leaning against the wall watching her reaction.
"What...When did you...Why did you..." She stuttered and his lips turned up into a wide smile.
"I take it you're happy with them and that you'll accept my apology for the ones we ruined?" He asked and her face split into a wide smile as she hopped in place, clapping her hands while giggling giddily.
"Are you kidding? I don't care how annoying you are, these look amazing!" She laughed as she began the 'grueling' task of picking the first one. Natsumi looked up to see her mom leaning on her elbows, her chin resting in her hands as she smiled with a strange twinkle in her eyes.
"Well Ryuu darling. I think you found the key to Natsumi's heart." She said with a wink as Natsumi blushed and glared at her mom. She was cut off as a strange sound floated to her ears. She turned and watched in amazement as Ryuu threw his head back and laughed.
"Even a hopeless fool could figure her out. I'm starting to rethink my involvement in feeding her obsession."
"For the last time! I'm not obsessed with strawberries!" Natsumi cried and it only made Ryuu and her mom laugh harder. Eventually she sighed and crossed her arms, but she was smiling as she watched Ryuu laugh so freely. Who would have thought that the sound wouldn't be creepy after all. She never would have guess and had anyone suggested it a week ago she would have laughed at them. She laughed along with the pair as she thought to herself,
'My first friend is such a weirdo. But I don't want it any other way.'