Episode 3: Aibiki

[Hayate]

Power of Love

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~ Episode 3: Aibiki (Date) ~[/u]

Act 1: Day of Merriment

On an ordinary Saturday morning, Kyosuke is seen staring blankly at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. His eyes were a tiny bit bloodshot, his hair was messy, and his skin was pale – all the telltale signs of someone who later that day would be going out on his first date.

His cousin Satsuki walks by the widely open bathroom door and watches as Kyosuke wallows in his disbelief. “Well, well… If I hadn’t heard it for myself, I never would’ve believed it. You of all people going on a date? I must be hallucinating.”

“…That makes two of us…”, mumbles Kyosuke in his half-awake state. “Besides, it’s not like the girl would allow me to say ‘no’.”

The disoriented Kyosuke had known Emiri Sakurai for several weeks now. And while he had learned more about her than he would’ve liked during that time, she still knew barely anything about him. So the spunky girl decided to approach the boy the previous day…

“…Run that by me again?”

“You heard me! Tomorrow afternoon, you’re gonna take me out on a date!”

“And why on Earth should I do that?”

“‘Cuz in the time I’ve known you, Kyo, you’ve barely told me anything about yourself. The most I can ever come up with is you originate from Miyako-jima, you like to read manga, you’re on the Sapporo South High School track team, and you listen to J-rock.”

“And that’s a problem?”

“It is for me! I mean…we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“…You’re not taking ‘no’ for an answer, are you?”

“Nope!”

“…Perfect…”

“Then it’s settled! Meet me at my house at noon, ‘kay? ‘Cuz if you don’t show up…I’m huntin’ you down!”

“Hahaha!” The fact that Kyosuke was going on a date was indeed humorous to Satsuki; the fact that he was pressured into one was hysterical. “This Emiri girl must really like you if she’s this persistent.”

“…Either that, or she’s freakin’ out of her mind…”, Kyosuke retorts.

A few hours later, Kyosuke’s transformation was complete. His post-sleep look was replaced with slicked hair and casual Saturday attire: white shirt, brown lightweight jacket, blue jeans, and white sneakers. He exuded an aura of pokerfaced confidence. “…Well?”, he inquires his on-looking cousin.

“Hmm…” Satsuki places her index finger and thumb under her chin. “It’s missing a little something… Oh! I know!” She momentarily dashes into her bedroom and returns with a bottle of cologne. “A little splash of this, and you’ll be good to go!”

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

Moments later, Kyosuke exits his house with his hands pocketed. Satsuki looks on as the boy leaves through the front gate. “Ganbatte, Kyosuke!”, she calls out as he walks away. “Aw… Our little Kyo-kun’s growing up so fast…”, Satsuki jokes to herself with a short laugh.

As Kyosuke makes his way towards Emiri’s house several blocks over, he mentally prays for the day to go by quickly. As long as everything went off without a hitch, he’d have no reason to complain. Several minutes later, he turns down a rather peaceful neighborhood and stops walking. Glancing at a stone wall in front of a corner house, Kyosuke notices a small sign that read ‘Sakurai’. He looks up at the house behind this sign. The house itself looked no different than his own, save for a few of its own minute distinctions. Kyosuke takes a deep breath and slowly exhales before opening the gate. As he makes his way to the front door, his eyes are drawn towards some lawn ornaments. Nothing too out of the ordinary about them. At first thought, behind Emiri’s energy and overexcitement was a girl with a normal family. Having reached the front door, Kyosuke rings the doorbell and awaits a reply.

And it wouldn’t be long before he’d receive one either. Behind the door, an unfamiliar, rather high-pitched voice calls out, “Hai, hai! Coming!” Kyosuke watches as the door quickly swings open. But it wasn’t Emiri who answered the bell; instead, he’d be greeted by a little girl with bright pink hair. “Konnichiwa! You must be Kyosuke!”

Kyosuke’s eyes blink a couple times to acknowledge the girl. “Uh… Y-Yeah. And you are?”

“I’m Emiri’s little sister Ayumu! You can call me Ayu-chan!”

“…Right…”

The pink-haired Ayumu twists around to call out into the household. “Oi, Emi-nee! Your boyfriend’s here!”

“…Boyfriend…?”

“Oh! Be right there!”, Emiri shouts out from inside. She emerges into the main hallway where Kyosuke and Ayumu could see her. She was wearing a blue striped crop top with elbow-length sleeves, a lightweight denim jacket, a blue jean skirt, and white shoes. Her accessories consisted of a hairclip that parted her short red hair a little to the side, and a silver bracelet on her right wrist. “Hey, Kyosuke! How’s it going?”, Emiri merrily greets.

This was the first time Kyosuke had seen Emiri in such clothing. Taken by utter surprise, Kyosuke turns away slightly to hide his flushed face. “…H-Hey.”

Of course, the playful Ayumu would be close by enough to notice this. “Hahaha! Look, look, he’s blushing!”

“Shut it, ‘pinky’!”, Kyosuke snaps.

“Hehehe… Gomen, Kyosuke. Ayumu can be a bit of a handful.”

“…You don’t say…”

Just before stepping outside to join Kyosuke, Emiri turns to her rear. “Ittekimasu, obaachan! Ayumu, be sure to look after obaachan for me, okay?”

“Sure, sure! You two have fun on your hot date now! Hahaha!”

“Oh, just go back inside already, would you!?”

…A short time later, Kyosuke and Emiri walk in the direction of Sapporo Station. “Honestly…”, Kyosuke starts in a huff. “…How can you live with that annoying girl?”

“Well, she’s my little sister. I know she comes off as rude and irritating at first, but she can be really sweet sometimes…even if it never seems that way. Hehe. So…what do you wanna do first?”

“What do I wanna do? This whole date thing was your idea.”

“Silly Kyosuke! It’s the guy’s job to keep the girl entertained when they’re on a date!”

“…Of course it is…”, Kyosuke replies with a sigh. Once again, Emiri had pushed him into a corner. “Okay, let’s see… I doubt we’ll find much to do here in Kita-ku. I guess we could try Chuo-ku.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

Relocating to Chuo-ku via train, Kyosuke and Emiri hit the first stop on their date: a well known maid café. As Kyosuke sips his warm sweet tea, Emiri is seen sitting across from him eating umeboshi. As soon as Emiri bites down into one of the fruits placed in front of her, her face twists a little at its sourness. “Mmmmm! Boy, that’s good!”, she quietly squeals in delight. She pokes a toothpick into another of the fruits and holds it up in front of Kyosuke. “Here, Kyo! Try one!”

Kyosuke sets his cup down and calmly declines. “No thanks. I don’t like sour stuff.”

“C’mon, just one!”

“I said no!”

“Trust me, you’ll like it!”

“I already said I don’t like--!” Kyosuke’s rejoinder would be interrupted, however, as Emiri shoves the fruit into his mouth. “!!!”

“Hah! Gotcha!”

This was the first time Kyosuke had eaten umeboshi, and it was perhaps the sourest thing he had ever tried. Taken aback by the fruit’s unique flavor, Kyosuke’s face twists a great deal. In a desperate attempt to dilute this taste, he quickly downs the rest of his sweet tea. “Ohhhh…”

“…You okay, Kyo?”

“Are you trying to kill me or something, Emiri!?”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. I eat umeboshi all the time.”

“Is that so…? It’s a wonder your tongue hasn’t jumped out of your mouth and run away by now…” The impatient boy leans back, crosses his arms, and looks in the direction of the café kitchen. “Where the heck is our order?”

At that moment, a waitress dressed in a cute maid outfit exits the kitchen holding a small tray. On top of the tray, two parfaits were precariously balanced. As she walks towards Kyosuke and Emiri’s table, she says aloud with a grin, “Okay, that’s two parfaits for the cute couple-- W-W-Whoa!!!” Before the waitress could complete her sentence, she loses her footing and stumbles forward onto the floor, causing the parfaits she was carrying to fly upwards. Perhaps it was divine intervention that determined where the flying parfaits would land…

…Kyosuke’s head. Ice cream, whipped cream, and various syrups cover his face and shirt. “…” No words come out of Kyosuke’s mouth, but his twisted facial expression spoke for itself.

Across from him, Emiri is seen holding back her hysterical laughter.

Realizing what she had done, the clumsy waitress rises to her feet to help wipe the melting confection off of Kyosuke’s face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sir! It was an accident!”, she yelps in extreme anxiety.

“It’s okay, really.”, Emiri says on Kyosuke’s behalf. “Isn’t that right, Kyo?”

Still keeping his thoughts to himself, the ice-cream-covered teen continues to just sit silently and wipe the syrup from his shirt before stains set in.

…The ‘cute couple’, as the inept waitress had referred to them by earlier, exit the café shortly thereafter, having received complimentary parfaits for the whole fiasco. “Aw, come on!”, Emiri begins in a whiny voice. “You gotta admit that was funny!”

“Uh-huh… Remind me to laugh once I get the last drop of ice cream out of my ears…”, her date replies with his trademark sarcasm.

“Okay, so maybe that didn’t go as planned. But we can still have fun somewhere else. Hmm…” Emiri’s eyes start to dart about the street in search of further dating activity. “…Oh! How about over there?”, she says to Kyosuke while pointing at a karaoke bar.

“A…karaoke bar…”, Kyosuke whispers to himself almost apprehensively.

“Come on, let’s go!” The cheery redhead suddenly takes him by the hand and hastily pulls him along.

“W-Wait, Emiri! I…don’t think karaoke’s a good idea…!”, Kyosuke exclaims in protest.

Unfortunately, his plea would fall on deaf ears. “What are you talking about? Karaoke’s a blast!”, Emiri replies as she pulls him into the bar.

However, her excitement would be cut notoriously short. “What do you mean you’re all booked up?!?”

The clerk at the front desk, maintaining his professionalism, looks down on Emiri apologetically. “I’m deeply sorry, ma’am, but our booths are all occupied at the moment, and our appointments stretch on until the evening. To be honest, we’re just as surprised as you are. This is our busiest Saturday in weeks.”

“Well, that just plain sucks!” A disappointed Emiri turns to face Kyosuke. “Can you believe this, Kyo!? All filled up before we got here!!”

“Y-Yeah… Too bad…” Although he put up a disillusioned front, Kyosuke was greatly relieved deep down, as his closely guarded secret of singing inability was safe for another day.

As the two leave the karaoke bar, Emiri sighs heavily. “Well, so much for that… Now what are we supposed to do?”

“…” For some strange reason, it pained Kyosuke to see Emiri so disheartened. Or, to be more accurate, her depression was a bit contagious. He ponders for a moment to come up with a plan. “…!” Then it came to him. “I’ve got an idea!”

“Hmm? What is it?” Just then, Emiri could feel a hand grasp her own and pull her down the street at a slow walking pace. “K-Kyosuke!? Where are we going?”

“Just…come with me, and don’t ask any questions.”, he answers forebodingly.

A short few blocks later, Kyosuke and Emiri stop walking, and Emiri’s eyes light up as they are greeted by the sight of a grand building. “Ohhhh… The Sapporo Factory!”

“…Well?”

“Huh? ‘Well’ what?”

“…You gonna stare at it all day, or are we gonna go in?”

~Aibiki: End of Act 1~

Act 2: A Wavering Heart

As Kyosuke and Emiri walk past the glass entrance doors, they’re overcome by the complex’s vastness. Various stores and eating establishments completely cover the east and west walls. Even Kyosuke finds his jaw hanging open by this. “I’ve only been here once a few months back. And it’s even bigger than I remember.”, Emiri starts. “What about you, Kyosuke?”

“Well… To be honest, this is my first time here.”, responds Kyosuke. “My cousin Satsuki used to try and get me to come here with her on her shopping trips, but I always say no.”

“Oh, really…? Hehehe… In that case, it’s my turn to be your tour guide! I’ll show you all the cool places to shop at!”

“…O-Okay… Lead the way, ‘Emiri-san’…”

The two would spend the next couple of hours hopping from store to store, inside each of which they would be greeted by the salesclerks with a friendly ‘Irasshai mase!’ Emiri even took it upon herself to buy some new clothes.

Inside one of these stores, she emerges from a dressing room wearing a pink tank top adorned with the Kanji for ‘love’. “What do you think, Kyo?”, she queries.

Kyosuke looks on at the girl nervously. It felt awkward the way Emiri was treating him like one of her girlfriends. “Um…it’s…nice?”, he hesitantly replies.

“Hmm…” Without saying anything, the redhead simply dashes back into the dressing room…

…leaving Kyosuke to once again lower his head in boredom. ‘Just how much longer are we gonna be doing this?’

Moments later, he’s approached by a female salesclerk. “Will you and your girlfriend be needing anything else, sir?”

“No, we’re fine… W-Wait, ‘girlfriend’!? Emiri’s not my girlfriend!”

“Oh, is that so? Sumimasen. I didn’t mean to assume.”

“…” As the inquisitive clerk walks away, Emiri emerges from the dressing room in her usual attire. “Oh. Are you done, Emiri?”

“…Uh, yeah.”

“…Is something wrong?”

“N-No, nothing’s wrong. Um… Hey, I know this one movie theater that’s nearby. You wanna catch a movie?”

“Uh…sure, okay.” Kyosuke picks up the bags with Emiri’s newly purchased clothes and watches Emiri leave the store. But the way she walked had altered a little, as if her mood had changed. “…What’s her problem?”

About 30 minutes later, Kyosuke and Emiri sit side-by-side in a dim movie theater, the large screen being the room’s only source of light. The movie itself was a typical chick flick – not exactly Kyosuke’s first choice, but every other movie was sold out. Looking up at the screen, Kyosuke watches as the film’s two lead roles make goo-goo eyes at each other. He wasn’t at all revolted by the scene; then again, he was entertained either. As his eyes wander around the theater, Kyosuke notices at least three other boy/girl couples who were undoubtedly on a date as well. ‘…I’m surrounded by couples… Perfect…’ Then, he looks at Emiri to his right, who was gazing intently at the screen. Her face gave off the impression that she was enjoying herself but not as much as she should be. It puzzled Kyosuke a little. Was she not having fun? Was the movie that bad? Kyosuke’s line of vision then shifts downward, and his eyes lock onto Emiri’s left hand, which was loosely grasping the armrest. If Emiri was indeed not enjoying herself, Kyosuke had an idea of what might change that. He slowly picks up his right hand and gently places it on top of Emiri’s hand.

“!!!” Almost immediately feeling Kyosuke’s skin touch hers, Emiri pulls her hand away. “S-Sorry!”, she whispers to him in a panic.

Emiri’s apology made Kyosuke even more uncomfortable. After all, she was not the one at fault.

…A few minutes after the film comes to an end, Kyosuke and Emiri exit the theater. The orange sunlight shining through the windows stated that the sun was starting to go down. Emiri stretches her arms up to get the knots out of her joints. “Mmmm… Boy, that…sure was boring, wasn’t it? Hehehe…”

“…Yeah.”

“H-Hey, listen, you mind if I hit the bathroom real quick?”

“No. Go ahead.” With Kyosuke’s approval, Emiri jogs over to a nearby public restroom. As she falls out of view, Kyosuke crosses his arms and leans against a wall to think. “Okay, something’s definitely up with that girl… But what? Did I say something? Hmm…”

“‘Girlfriend’!? Emiri’s not my girlfriend!”

“…No. It couldn’t have been that…could it?” The thought of becoming more than just friends with Emiri never even crossed Kyosuke’s mind. Why would it? She was just like all the other girls he had associated with: loud and annoying. But if something would lift Emiri’s spirits, Kyosuke had to at least make an attempt. “Hmm…” A short distance to the right of the restrooms, Kyosuke spots a humble pastry shop. And before he knew it, he was walking.

Just a few minutes later, Emiri exits the restroom and finds Kyosuke waiting for her. “Hey. Sorry for making you wait.”

“It’s fine. Ready to go?”

“Sure.”

Since the sun was starting to set, the two indirectly decide to call it a day and leave the Sapporo Factory. While on the train from Chuo-ku to Kita-ku, Emiri glances out the window to gaze at the sunset. “Wow… Doesn’t that just take your breath away?”

“…Yeah. I guess it does.” Kyosuke couldn’t help but look at Emiri’s face, which was glowing a little from the sunset’s rays. “…” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. “Hey.”

“What?”

Opening the pocket-sized package, Kyosuke offers to Emiri some sweetened umeboshi that he had purchased shortly before they left the Sapporo Factory. “Want one?”

Seeing Kyosuke perform this act of generosity both surprised and delight Emiri. She picks up one of the bite-sized fruits and eats it in pleasure. “Mmmm!” But just then, her smile of contentment is replaced by a frown of uncertainty. “…Hey, Kyosuke?”

“Hmm?”

“This might sound stupid, but…did you have fun today?”

“…What are you getting at?”

“The entire time, I got the feeling that you weren’t having fun. That you…hated being around me or something.”

“…”

“I mean…we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“What do I wanna do? This whole date thing was your idea.”

“Are you trying to kill me or something, Emiri!?”

“N-No, nothing’s wrong.”

Now it all made sense. Emiri was never trying to become more than just friends with Kyosuke. His recent attitude had given her the impression that he despised her. And this date was simply to see if that was true or not. “…Why would you think I hated you, Emiri? I mean, sure, you bug the hell out of me…and you never know when to leave me the hell alone…and you’re always there whenever I turn around…”

“…”

“…I’m only making you feel worse, aren’t I?”

“Hehehe. It’s fine. If only my original plan didn’t fall through though…”

“What original plan?”

“I wanted the day to end with me knowing a little bit more about you, Kyosuke. I guess that was just wishful thinking. …But at least I know that you don’t hate me or anything. Heh.” With that, Emiri turns to gaze at the setting sun some more.

“…” Kyosuke’s face reddens a little as he prepares himself for what he was about to say. “…Emiri, I…I can’t sing.”

“Huh? What’d you say, Kyo?”

“Remember back at the karaoke bar and we found out it was booked solid? You don’t know how relieved I was to hear the clerk say that. The truth is…I didn’t want to go in because…I can’t sing.”

“You…can’t sing?”

“Nope.”

“…” Emiri briefly turns away from Kyosuke and starts to tremble.

“…Emiri?”

Then, accompanied by her trembling, she starts to giggle silently. This soon escalates into boisterous laughter and frantic leg kicking. “Hahahahaha!!! Kyosuke can’t sing!!! That’s hilarious!!!”

“…” As Emiri makes a spectacle of herself, Kyosuke ponders on what exactly possessed him to divulge such a well-kept secret.

Emiri attempts to catch her breath and wipes away her laughter-induced tears. “Ahhh… Gomen, Kyo. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just something I didn’t expect to hear.”

“Uh-huh…” Just then, Kyosuke would feel something soft touch his shoulder. Glancing over, he realizes that Emiri was resting her head on him, causing his face to flush again. “E-Emiri!?”

“But…I’m glad that you decided to share that with me, Kyosuke. …Arigatou.”

As Emiri dozes off with her head on Kyosuke’s shoulder, he leans his head back and looks up at the ceiling of the train car. “…” A smile creeps onto his face as he recalls the day’s events. He even laughs at himself a little for what transpired at the maid café.

…Shortly after walking Emiri home and receiving some more harassment from her sister Ayumu, Kyosuke walks in the direction of his own home. The sun was almost completely gone. He walks past his front gate, opens the door, and…

“OKAERI, KYOSUKE!!!”

…receives a loud welcome from his cousin Satsuki. “Gah! Dammit, Satsuki, you trying to give me a heart attack!?”

“Never mind that! So tell me! How’d it go!? You meet her parents!? Did you have fun!? Did you kiss her?!? Tell me everything!”

“Get a hold of yourself, Satsuki!”

“Not until you give me every last detail!”

“Leave me alone!”

“I will if you’d just tell me!!!”

“Aah!!! Let go of me!!!”

The incessant noise would later tempt Kyosuke and Satsuki’s neighbors to notify the police.

~Aibiki: End of Act 2~

~Power of Love: End of Episode 3~

~ Power of Love: Next Episode ~

Misuzu: The gall! The nerve! The audacity!

Chiaki: What’s her problem?

Yuzu: There’s a rumor going around that--

Rudy: ATTENTION, SAPPORO SOUTH HIGH!!! KYOSUKE NANBARA AND MISUZU AKIYAMA ARE DATING!!!

Chiaki: …W-What!? Kyosuke, is that true!?

Kyosuke: Of course it isn’t!

Misuzu: If I ever find the person that started this ludicrous rumor, I’ll… I’ll… GRAAAHHH!!!

Emiri: Next time on Power of Love! Episode 4, “Futari (Couple)”!

Kyosuke/Misuzu: WE’RE NOT A COUPLE!!!!!

Yuzu: …Scary…[/font][/size][/color]