Chapter 15

 

Reiko and Hayato stride their way towards her house; it was just five in the afternoon, but they have decided to go home and think of something that could help their friend.

 

Reiko sighed as they walk to the side of the way, “Hope the address could give Yankumi a big help.” She started out as Hayato look at her and nodded.

 

“It sure will, she’s an annoying teacher; she could be annoyingly helpful,” Hayato commented, making Reiko smile and nodded in agreement.

 

“True...” she answered as she stretched her arms forward; she look at her house, a meter away from them. “Are you coming inside?” Reiko asked, as Hayato look at her quietly, then to her house, and nodded dumbly. Reiko frowned at the face Hayato gave her; though shrug her shoulders as she opened the door of her house. 

 

“Yankumi is a great teacher... she’s the very first who could understand students like us,” Reiko commented as the two entered the house; taking off their shoes and placing them in the shoe cabinet beside the doorway.

 

“Were you also treated like us?” she paused and looked at Hayato, grinning.

 

“What do you think why I was placed in your school then?” she ask back as both strides towards the Dining Room.

 

“You’re a co-ed trial of the school, as what I have heard from the teachers...” Hayato answered, rubbing the back of his head as Reiko offered him to take a sit on the couch; Reiko only laugh at his answer, shrugging her shoulders.

 

She took a sit beside him as she played with her fingers, “It’s one of the factors why I was placed at your school, but...” she paused, nudging her shoulder to his. “Can’t you give a right answer at that?”

 

“Should I answer... ‘because you’re a delinquent student who has no choice but to enter our school’ or ‘because you pass the examination test’?”

 

Reiko leaned on the couch, laughing herself off at Hayato’s comment; her laughter died down as she saw Hayato looking at her amusedly. “Should I answer... both?”

 

Hayato nodded, seemingly understanding what Reiko implies. “A delinquent girl student... a rare story to be told,” he trailed off as Hayato started looking around the place, the room –the house- is painted white; making the place simple yet elegant. Hayato was looking at the place in awe as Reiko only watched him.

 

“Was this your parents’ remnant as well?” Hayato asks as Reiko answered a short ‘yeah’. “This house is BIG! Double the size of our place,” he stood up, suddenly looking at the pictures at the side table; Reiko followed him, suddenly looking at Hayato who have an intent look at the pictures. 

 

There were three pictures at the side table; the first one is a group picture of Reiko and her friends, the second is an old picture of two couples, and the third is a picture of Reiko and Ryu when they were kids.

 

Reiko bits her bottom lip in discomfort as Hayato look at the third picture intently. “You and Ryu in this picture have some same features...” Hayato commented, looking at Reiko who looks away from his gaze, Reiko stands before him at the side table. “As if you’re blood-related,”

 

“Somehow... I think we’re more than that...” Reiko let out, looking at the picture of both she and Ryu shared. “He was my protector, and I always look up to him a lot. He’s always been there as well, just what Mizuo and my friend do.”

 

As Hayato hears how Reiko looks up at Ryu more than something, somehow in his heart; heaves a sign of discomfort and jealousy, disappointed that he never knew Reiko before and due to some jealousy occurs towards his best friend and because he never really knows the real relationship towards her and Ryu.

 

Reiko sighs, trailing her finger on the side frame of the picture. “If it weren’t for him and his family... I might not be who I am today. Yea... he’s just like a brother, and something more than that,” Hayato looks at Reiko, watching every emotion pooling in her brown orbs; there was sadness, pain, guilt and somehow hope and love. He couldn’t but look away, didn’t know what to say to ease some of her worries. He never knew much about her, a childhood friend of Ryu who always call Ryu ‘Ryu-nii’ and the Queen of West Side. There can be more in her that he hasn’t heard of, and he wanted to know more of it. 

 

And despite his small patience, he will try to understand her and prove to her that she’s special to him.

 

Looking back at Reiko, Hayato takes hold of Reiko’s hand which trails the frame; as he also looks at the picture frame and smiled, somehow this jealousy of him has made him longer his patience towards Reiko. Reiko looks at him confusedly as Hayato entwined his hand in hers, since he stands at the back; he made a move of flinging his arms around her, hugging Reiko from the back.

 

“Would you add me?” he asks as Reiko turned her head a bit to look at Hayato confusedly.

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“I’ll also be your protector, the one whom you’ll look up to... I will always be here by your side,” he softly mutters, hugging Reiko more from behind as his nose softly nuzzles her cheek. “Always,”

 

Reiko turned towards him, facing him as she looks at Hayato who have those serious looks he rarely gives. She doesn’t know how Hayato suddenly turned mushy, but she was glad he did at this time. Thankful that Hayato has evaded her thoughts about the picture's hidden meaning, especially in the middle picture frame displayed on the table.

 

She smiles, leaning her hands on each side of his cheeks; she leaned closer as well, her nose doing the Eskimo kiss on Hayato’s nose as well. “Thank you,”

 

Hayato closes his eyes, leaning his nose on Reiko’s nose; sighing, Hayato looks at her as he embraces her more. “Geez... this mushy stuff really is getting into me,” he groans, chuckling all along as Reiko laughs with him as well.

 

“Well... that statement suddenly gets off the mood, thank you for ruining it, fluff guy,” Reiko teases as she pulls back a bit as Hayato pouts at the nickname Reiko let out.

 

“Geez... thanks for ruining my ego, Queen...” he retorts, scoffing but smirking as Reiko rolled her eyes at the nickname.

 

“Ugh... Give me a break with that, Fluffy...” she groans as she grins at him Cheshire-ly and pushes him roughly, to his surprise, as he falls -luckily- on the long couch.

 

“Oi, Reiko... that push really is harsh, or did you intend to since you know there’s a couch here?” she chuckles as he sits on the couch comfortably; she too sits on the couch beside him, while crossing her legs.

 

“Who knows?”

 

Suddenly, Hayato turns quiet; which Reiko notices as she turns her head towards him, confusedly looking at his serious, thoughtful look. It seems that Hayato is thinking something, with that serious face; though have a doubtful look to ask her something, and Reiko notices this.

 

“Hey... you have something in your mind you want to ask or let out?” Hayato looks at her surprise, though sighs before leaning his back more on the couch. 

 

Hayato sighs, looking up at the ceiling as he sits there comfortably, “Well... just thinking about that Takizawa teacher,” he let out as Reiko look at him confused about why would Hayato asks something about the teacher... 

 

Reiko leaned her back more on the couch, it’s not a hard thing to realize that Hayato –the man beside her- wants to know something more about her, and that includes her past together with her former teacher.

 

“What do you want to know then?” Reiko asks as Hayato side glances at her quietly. “I know Mizuo must have told our story, do you want to ask something more about it?”

 

“What was your present standing between him now?”

 

“He’s nothing to me anymore...”

 

“You’ve met him, right? What did he say?” Hayato asks as Reiko sighs, closing her eyes; Hayato scoot towards Reiko closer as he took hold of her hand with his, Reiko opens her eyes as she looks at his hand with hers.

 

Reiko bits her bottom lip as she looks at him, contemplating; though Hayato really wants to know, he would never urge her to speak more if she was not comfortable with it. “He... he just wanted to apologize about the past... so I punched him and told him I’d think about it,” Hayato almost falls sideward as he looks at Reiko strangely, then softly chuckles at her blunt words.

 

“Well, that was... unusual,” he mutters then shakes his head, Reiko smiles at his action; suddenly facing him as she kneels on the couch.

 

While Hayato, on the other hand, sits still as Reiko smiles at him. “You worry too much... and that seems unusual, fluff...” she stated as Hayato looks away from her gaze, Reiko grumbles a soft giggle from . Never would she actually see the leader of 3D Kurogin Academy would be so childish and mushy to a girl... and she was happy it was hers that makes Hayato like this.

 

“Who wouldn’t be” Just as Hayato completes his sentence, Reiko leans to him closer; he pauses as he looks at her with those surprised looks. She grins at his look, but her eyes soften; cupping his cheek, before closing her eyes and leaning her lips to his.

 

Hayato at first surprised, is surprised that Reiko has made a move of kissing him; but nevertheless, kisses back with passion, and Reiko smiled at their kiss before pulling back. 

 

“Don’t worry... you’re still my number one and my one and only, fluff...” she replies, before grinning at his nickname; Hayato could only chuckles as he wriggles her hair messily.