A Cruel Irony (A Tenma One-shot)

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Well, it's been awhile. But I'm finally back with Scenes 7-9. Sorry for teh lack of updates this week; I'm just still trying to settle into a 28 hour work week spread over four days, and it can be pretty exhausting if you catch my drift.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next batch of scenes.

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“What? But dad-”

“No buts about it son”, Umatarou's stern sounding father said. From where he sat, all the young boy could do was sigh as his gaze shifted towards his brown boots.

“Look son...please understand”, he heard his father plead as he began to eye him (Tohru) again. “You mother
and I are concerned for your well being. We think it's time you got out more, made some friends.”

“I keep telling you two, I'm fine”, the young boy sternly defended.

“But don't you get lonely, sport”, his father asked him.

“Not really; I have Charcoal, and Micro Bear”, he replied as he watched his breath a frustrated sigh.

“It's not the same; you've just programmed that thing to be your friend”, he explained.

“So what!? He's still my friend”, the young boy angrily defended.

“That's right; Umatarou will never get lonely because I'm his best friend”, the little bear cheerfully responded from where it sat on the kitchen table.

As Umatarou watched another frustrated sigh escape his father's mouth, he could not help but cringe as his gaze began to turn away from him once again. Though something caught his attention; his father was getting down on one knee. What really caught him off guard though, was that he had a warm smile on his youthful looking face.

“Look son; I know you have a hard time fitting in. But you're the one who has to make an effort as well”, his father explained.

“So...you're saying that it's my fault”, the young boy bluntly asked.

“No, of course not. All I'm saying is that you need to make an effort”, his father replied, even as his gaze became fixated on his boots again.

“But what's the point if they can't appreciate me”, he asked.

“Well, you won't know unless you try”, he heard his father say as he put his hands on his small shoulders, which caused Umatarou to gaze up at his confident looking father once again.

“And besides, who knows? Maybe you'll find a life-long friend, maybe you'll go into business together-”

“I'd rather work alone”, he glumly replied as he watched his father fall silent.

“Well, picking horseradishes ain't easy work, you know”, he tried to explain, much to the boy's growing dismay.

“Well maybe...Maybe I don't want to pick horseradishes for the rest of my life! Did that ever occur to you”, he finally asked, or rather blurted out.

He did not say anything after that. In fact, all he could do was bite his lower lip as he watched his father's face. He took in a big gulp before his head turned away from the older man, he even felt his hands begin to gently tense up as he did so.

“Son, I understand. But you know that your mother and I just don't make enough money to send you away once you're all grown up”, he tried to explain.

“So you'd rather me be unhappy for the rest of my life”, the young boy asked in a somewhat angry tone.

“That's not what I meant-”

“Yes you do”, he snapped as he finally turned to face his old man once more. Though despite the shock on his (Tohrus) face, Umatarou watched as his father shake it off before looking him straight in the eye once again.

“Son, I'm sure you'll find happiness going to University here-”

“No! I'd rather live anywhere...anywhere but here”, he said as his gaze returned to his boots again, allowing for a brief moment of silence to settle in.

“What if I'm gone? Your mother can't run the business by herself...Is that what you want”, he heard his father ask

him as those words sunk in. Though all he saw once he made eye contact with old man again, was a very stern looking face, one that made his body tense up.

“But...I never said that-”

“No, but that's what you're implying”, he sternly explained to the boy as he tensed up once more.

“I...I'm sorry”, Umatarou replied as his gaze returned to his boots once again. This time, he could even feel his stomach beginning to turn belly flops as his body remained very tense.

“Honestly, I just don't know what to do with you...Sometimes I wonder if you even love us”, he heard his father say. Hearing that, caught his surprised attention as his gaze went back to his father's stern face.

“What? Don't be silly; I love you and mom very much-”

“Then maybe it's about time you got your head out of the clouds and started thinking about others”, he angrily retorted towards his son, who could feel his stomach just about to burst at this point.

He said nothing as he watched his father leave the room, he could not even muster enough strength to leave the table. He just sat there, with that contemplative look on his face.
.......................................................................................
“Hey dad...Listen, I know we had our differences last night...but I'm willing to let by gones be by gones if you are...No, that's not right either!”, Umatarou thought to himself; this was the third apology speech he had run through.

Of course by now, he was able to see his house in the distance. With a small moan, the young boy breathed a deep sigh as he began to walk up that dirt road. One way or another, he knew he could not just ignore what had happened yesterday. Suddenly, he became startled to see his dog Charcoal appear out of thin air. He noticed almost immediately though, that something was off; the big dog seemed impatient.

“What's wrong boy”, he asked as his dog began to bark loudly at him.

“Did something happen”, he asked, only to be come surprised as Charcoal began to tug at his salmon coloured shirt. “Okay, okay boy. Where is it?!”

Letting his dog go ahead of him, Umatarou began to follow him into the grassy fields. At this point, he could only possibly guess just what had his dog so spooked. Though upon reaching the horseradish patch, he got his answer. It was his father; he was lying on the hard earth, clenching his left breast as he slowly gasped for air.

For awhile, Umatarou stood there motionless as his stomach began to tighten. His body would not move, his hands even began to shake a bit as he felt his entire body tensing up at this sight. For awhile, he could not even speak as he watched his father's struggle. Eventually, he could no longer watch his father suffer. Eventually, he began to move his legs again before he finally collapsed to his knees to gently wrap his hands around his fathers shoulders.

“Dad”, he screamed, still feeling tense as he watched his dad gasp for air. “Don't worry, I'll go get help! Just stay here”, the young boy told his dad.

Before he could move, he felt his father put his hand on his shoulder.

“Son”, he heard his father say in a breathless voice.

“Dad, let me go-”

“Son, I'm so sorry...”, he uttered, much to the young boys surprise.

As he said those words, Umatarou saw his fathers eyes close shut. He watched as his father's chest stopped moving, he even jumped a bit as his father's hand slowly loosened its grip on his shoulder, collapsing on his lap.

For awhile, he just sat there, with his brown wide eyes staring at his fathers corpse. “It couldn't be real”, that was the first thought to enter his head. The more he looked at his father's corpse, he could not help but begin to whimper. Eventually, he layed himself on his fathers torso, and began to shake violently as he cried onto his fathers shirt.
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June 15; the day that Tohru Tenma's funeral was held. By now, the sun had begun to set. And by now, the only people left at his grave were Umatarou, and his mother.

To be honest, he did not know what to think as he stood staring at his father's grave. He did not even know what to think as his mother continued to sob into her handkerchief. All he could think of was his father's last words, that he was sorry for their argument, that he looked happy as he did. Remembering that did nothing for teh young boy, it just him tense up with guilt as hot tears poured down his face.

“I'm sorry father...”, he thought silently to himself.

To be continued...

[Astro Forever]

hmy:

I didn't expect this. If I may ask, how did you get the idea of the father's death?

[Prettywitchiusaka]

To be honest, it just sort of came out of how I feel Tenma's life would play out. The idea being that because he can never overcome his slefishness, the universe punishes him in the most aeful way possible; taking away his loved ones. If that makes any sense.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Hey guys. Well, after a few more days work, I officially have Scenes Ten and Eleven done. Enjoy!

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The sky was cloudy that day, though being a late summer day, it was not very cold at what was early afternoon. In hindsight, this was a good thing. After all, it was Friday, the day the Tenma's had their weekly supply of Horseradish seeds delivered to them.

Right now, the now twenty year old Umatarou was simply counting up the money he owed the truck driver standing right in front of him. By now, he had grown very tall and lean. His nose had grown long and looked very crone like, he even managed to grown his hair out a bit. One thing remained the same though; he was wearing navy bell bottoms that hid his dirty looking white shirt.

“Here you go”, Umatarou said as he handed the man his money. “That should be the exact amount.”

“Alright then. Well then , I'll see you later. Same time next week”, the driver asked him.

“Of course”, he politely answered, doing his best to keep his eyes on the man in front of him at all times.

“Right then. Well, see ya”, he said as he headed got back into the truck.

“You too”, Umatarou politely replied as he watched the truck drive off into the distance, letting out a sigh of relief as he watched the ground silently.

“You're getting a lot better” said a voice which startled him out of his silent state.

Turning around, Umatarou came face to face with his smiling mother. By now, she still wore light dresses, though now she wore glasses, her long black hair was even beginning to develop grey spots. She still seemed her cheerful self to him however as he tried to focus his gaze on her.

“I suppose”, he calmly stated.

“You suppose? Come on Umatarou; you actually looked him in the eyes this time”, she replied. “Why, keep this up, and you'll-”

“I know mother, I'm sure I'll be top the heap in no time”, he replied as he mocked his mother's cheery tone.

With a small sigh, his gaze returned to watching the dirt road. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand graze his shoulder. Surprised, he looked up to see his mother. Only this time, she looked more concerned than she had been a moment ago.

“Umatarou...are you sure you're happy”, she asked him. He looked rather surprised as she asked him that. In fact, he was unable to respond for a bit, or at least until he turned his gaze away from her.

“Well...I'm sure that father is happy...”, he replied before heading back towards his house.

As he walked up the porch, he opened the brown screen door and walked into the house before closing it shut behind him. Umatarou quickly wiped the dirt off his heavy, brown boots before taking them off and heading for the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen sink, the first thing he did was turn on the faucet before reaching for a glass cup form the open cupboard. Filling the cup to be filled to the brim, he took one big drink before taking a deep sigh afterwards. He then turned to walk towards the kitchen table, his eye caught something on the top shelf; unfinished robot parts. He tried to look away, but for some reason, he could not. All he did, was just stare at it, feeling passionate or even enlightenment as he did so.
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It was a nice, quiet morning. The small cracks of sunrise began to slip into Umatarou's room. Naturally, he did not notice. For now, he was looking at himself in the mirror, trying to adjust his shirt collar correctly. It had taken four years, but he was finally beginning to dress a bit more professionally. In addition to the white collared shirt he wore, he was also sporting a brown buttoned vest over top of his shirt, with a nice pair of black pants to match. His hair had grown out a bit, though not enough for anyone to really see the difference, though he had grown out a visibly small black beard by this time.

After grooming himself in the mirror, he turned to face his bed. Though something caught his attention from the corner of his eye; it was a shelf of small robots. Each one looked bright, shiny, and positively new. Of course, he knew that just simply was not true; despite their perfection he had been working on those projects over these past few years. Of course, Umatarou just took in a regretful sigh as he put one final book on Robotics in his suitcase.

“Well, you look handsome”, said a voice which startled the young man.

Turning around, Umatarou saw that it was only his mother. After four years, her hair had grown even more thick with grey, though her smile remained ever so warm and bright.

“Oh, hello mother”, Umatarou nervously stuttered as his mother walked over to him.

'Hello darling...Well, look, you're all done packing. I'll just carry this bag downstairs for you”, she replied as he watched her begin to lift the heavy suitcase.

“That won't be necessary”, he nervously replied as he took the suitcase away from her. “ Oh, that reminds me, has Mr. Peters dropped by today, yet?”

“We've been through this Umatarou; that cub scout is a man of his word, he'll be here soon”, the elderly woman explained to him.

“Oh, right...sorry...”, the young man slowly replied as his gaze returned to look at the other suitcase sitting atop his bed.

“Honey, why the gloomy face? You tried , didn't you”, he heard his mother ask him as his gaze remained on his suitcase for awhile.

“I know...I just wonder if I'm making the right decision...”, he explained to his mother, he even turned just in time to see her concerned look turn into a smile.

“Well, I'm proud of you...even if this isn't what your father wanted”, she said to him, causing him to return the favour with a warm smile of his own.

“I know...It's what I wanted...”, he said to his mother as they embraced into a loving hug.

To be continued...

Well, it's official folks. We are FINALLY finished with part one of the story. Now, we can move onto Tenma's colege years, and specific woman he encounters named Hoshie. Stay tuned for more.

[Tobiofan]

Well, it's official folks. We are FINALLY finished with part one of the story. Now, we can move onto Tenma's colege years, and specific woman he encounters named Hoshie. Stay tuned for more.

I've been reading your story here, and I have to say I'm impressed! I love your writing style. I can understand Tenma a lot better now. And the fact you brought in Micro Bear just adds to the mix. I can't wait to read more!

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Thanks. Mind you, it is only a fanfic, but I do feel that this might be the most logical way Tenma's life might turn out.

[Tobiofan]

Thanks. Mind you, it is only a fanfic, but I do feel that this might be the most logical way Tenma's life might turn out.

I know its just a fanfic, but you never know about what they can influence! I had a friend on Neopets who was writing a fanfic about the plot taking place (that was a year or two ago) and the Neopet creators took part of her story and added it in.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Oh really? Well thank you. Boy do I know what it feels like to be inspired by fanfics myself, so it's nice to know that one of mine inspired someone else.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated here, hasn't it? Anyways, sorry for the delays. I was feeling kind of under the weather last week, and I was also intent on getting these next three scenes just right. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my interpretation of how Tenma met his wife.

P.S. If Hoshie comes off as eitehr bland, or manipulative (in the wrong manner), then please let me know, and I'll try to fix it.

The time was currently 3:30 in the afternoon, and already was Umatarou heading back to his dorm room with a book held firmly in front of his face. Today was a lush, warm spring day in May. Very much unlike the cold, cloudy day he left the countryside for the city. Everything around him was in full bloom; the trees, the flowers, even the weeds. But this went unnoticed to him, he simply continued on reading his textbook as if nothing else existed.

“Guess who”, said an innocent sounding voice which startled him back into reality.

As Umatarou turned around, he came face to face with a familiar looking acquaintance; his neurology seatmate, Hoshie Yuriko. She was only two years younger than him, and yet, she looked as if she could easily pass for a model. Her fair skinned body was covered in a sleeveless pink dress with white trimming, and a beaded white sat nicely on her neck. Though her face was generally free of make-up, her lips were as bright as a red cherry, and her wide blue eyes sparkled with optimism. And just as noticeable was her long brown, hair, which she had curled into two rolls on each side of her head. She gave him a little smile as she waved hello to him,causing his expression to soften a bit.

“Oh...Hello Hoshie...”, Umatarou replied, unsure of what else to say, he nearly returned to his reading before she spoke up again.

“Wait, did I startle you?? Oh, I'm so sorry”, she explained. “I had wanted to ask you something after class, and I was so happy I'd caught up with you, didn't realize-Are you going over that chapter from class”, she asked him.

“Yes”, he replied as he went returned to reading and walking simultaneously, completely aware that she was following right beside him.

“Don't you think it's a bit too early to be doing review? I mean, you have all of next week, and the weekend”, he heard her suggest.

“Not necessarily; you see, I want to have this memorized for future reference”, he explained to her.

“Well, yeah, but it's Friday”, she replied.

“It is Friday, isn't it? I could probably use tonight to catch up on some studying, or even work on one or more of my projects”, the young man said with a sense of pride in his tone.

“Well, it sounds to me like you could use a breather”, she told him as he began to watch her from the corner of his eye. “In fact, why don't I take you out for a drink tonight? It'll be my treat.”

“No, thanks”, he bluntly replied.

“Alright then...Oh, I know, we can go out for ice cream! I know this great great little place down by the campus”, she cheerfully told him. “Of course, it is a little bit pricey, but I think we can manage. The store owner's actually pretty nice. Oh, and they have just the cutest-”

“I'm sorry Hoshie....I would take up your offer, but my work is far too important to partake in any leisurely activities”, the young man explained to her rather bluntly.

“Well, could you at least say that to my face”, she told him, making him stop to turn and face her.

“What”, he asked, surprised to see her looking somewhat disappointed.

“Well, you never look at me when I talk to you, or anyone for that matter. If you're going to turn someone down, do it properly”, she sternly explained to him, though he was just stunned by how assertive she was being.

“Oh, well...I guess you're right...I suppose I just...never thought of it that way..., he said as he rushed to to find the correct words to say to her. He was caught off guard though once he saw her giggling.

“Sorry Tarou-chan, I guess I was a bit too froward there, wasn't I”, he heard her sweetly reply, though he could not help but let out an aggravated sigh as she brought up that dreaded nickname again.

“We've been through this Hoshie”, he explained.

“Oh, but it's so cute”, she sweetly replied.

“Exact;y”, he replied.

“Oh, I see; it's too demeaning for you, isn't it”, she asked in an almost mocking tone.

“I wouldn't exactly put it like that, but yes”, he replied in a frustrated tone before turning away from her.

“Well then what should I call you”, he heard her ask from behind him.

“What”, he asked as he turned around to face her once more.

“Well, you don't like being called by your real name, right”, she asked rather sweetly as she gave him a smile.

Hearing that made Umatarou fall silent; he did not know what to say, or even do at a moment such as this. He just stood there as stiff as a rock, feeling his himself become flustered the longer she smiled at him. Finally, he managed to clear his throat before speaking to her again.

“If you excuse me Hoshie, I'll just be heading back to my dorm for now...”, the young man said in a slightly nervous tone.

With that said, he quickly turned the other way and began his way back towards his dorm room. Though as he did, he could not help but smile as he did so.
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Right now, the only light source Umatarou had on in his room was his desk lamp. Though really, its dim light was really all he needed at this point. Placing his helmet plate over his goggles, the quiet man simply placed the electrode onto the two wires he intended to weld together as a soft, blue light engulfed the dimly lit room. Unfortunately, this was probably about the fourth or fifth time the electrode had given out on him. He was not happy about this, if his annoyed grimace was any indication. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door.

“Come in”, Umatarou said as he placed the electrode on the small charger right next to him.

“Well, you certainly look busy”, asked a familiar voice that caught his attention.

Lifting the steel plate a goggles from his face, he turned to find himself surprised once he saw who his visitor was. It was Hoshie; holding a plastic cup in each hand, with her usual smile on her face.

“Hoshie...”, he said almost stunned as she tilted her head off to the side.

“Is something wrong”, she asked him. He stared at her for a brief second, before he shook his head back and forth for a bit.

“What?...Oh, nothing”, the usually quiet man replied while scratching the back of hid neck with his bare fingers. “It's just that you've been absent from class for a few days now.”

“Oh...that...”, she began as he noticed her gaze drift away from his, he even noticed that her smile was gone.

“It's nothing, my mother's been in town these last few days...”, she explained as he gave a smirk towards her remark.

“She sounds pleasant”, he replied as she laughed a little at his response.

“Oh she is...when she's not talking about how I should settle down”, the young woman explained rather bluntly as he laughed at her response. There was something he noticed though; she was smiling again.

“Well, anyway, I figured you might want some coffee”, she explained to him as she walked over and held out the plastic cup to his astonished face.

“Oh, thank you”, was all he could say as he took the hot cup from her hand and into his own.

Watching her take a seat on his neatly made bunk bed, he looked at her for a bit before taking his gaze off of her. “What could I possibly say”, was all he could think about as he stared down at the cup of freshly brewed coffee, watching the nearly invisible stream of steam rising from it as he did so.

“So, tonight's the big frat party over at the Omega house”, he heard her say as he brought himself back up to meet her face once again.

“Oh, Yes...I heard about that”, the usually quiet man replied.

“Do you plan on going”, she asked him.

“No; I don't care much for partying”, he explained.

“Really”, she asked somewhat enthusiastically. “Why do you think that is?”

“Wild parties are too loud, too claustrophobic, they are un-tameable”, he bluntly explained. “Here, I feel in control of the robots I create.”

“You know, I just think you like robots more than you like people”, she remarked.

“Well, that is part of it, but-No, wait! That's nonsense”, he rushed to say.

But it was too late, for she was already giggling at his reaction. With a nervous chuckle, Umatarou just returned his gaze to the the warm cup of coffee he was holding. Though for some reason, he could not help but smile as he listened to her giggle.

To be continued...

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Sorry, had to put scene fourteen in a seperate post. Enjoy!

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Umatarou felt dazed as he woke up, his eyelids felt rather heavy as they began to open, his arm even felt heavy as he began to rub his eyelids with his fingers. He blinked his eyes for a bit before he began focusing on his surroundings; the light was dim, and in front of him was an unfinished robot. There was doubt about it in his mind, he was sitting at his desk.

At first, he just stared at his surroundings in a daze. Though once the moment passed, he could not help but chuckle a bit at his situation; it had probably been the fifth time this had happened to him in a few weeks. Looking over at the clock, he saw that it was one in the morning. At this point, he felt he was better off getting a good night's rest as he got up from his seat.

Once he turned around however, he became shocked to see Hoshie, lying fast asleep on the bottom bunk bed. He could see that her feet were bare, though thankfully she was fully clothed, even though her pink dress was being wrinkled by the curled up position in which she slept in. Honestly, she looked very peaceful to him. Unfortunately though, that was not enough to calm his suspicions. After snapping himself out of his shocked state, he slowly moved towards the bed. Kneeling down, he grasped her shoulder with his hand.

“Hoshie...”, he asked as he lightly shook her. She just merely dug her face into her hands a bit more, annoying him.

“Hoshie”, he asked a bit louder, shaking her a bit harder than he did the first time. This time, he actually got a response as her eyelids began to open. She blinked them a little bit before spotting him.

“Oh, hello Tarou-chan....You're up already”, the sweet woman said as she rubbed her eyes, he just raised his eyebrow in confusion at this remark.

“Already”, he asked as she sat herself up and gave him a quick nod. Though right before his eyes, she began to panic.

“Oh, that's right! Your fever”, she said as she put her hand to his forehead. Umatarou startled back a bit as her hand touched him, his face returned to looking stern soon after.

After awhile, her face formed into her usual smile.

“Oh, well look that; normal temperature. I guess you've just been cooked up in this room-”, she said before falling silent as he took hold of her wrist.

She remained silent, even as he took her hand off of his forehead.

“Hoshie, why are you here”, he asked her rather bluntly.

“Oh, well; my friends were busy tonight, so I decided to see if you were up to anything”, she began to explain. “Though by the time I got here, you were already fast asleep. You looked so cute though; sleeping at your desk,
without a care in the world. Well, until I felt your forehead that is. I decided I'd stay here until you woke up, just to see how you were.”

“In hindsight though, I probably should have just left. I mean, I'm not exactly the neatest sleeper. Sometimes I've woken up with drool on my pillow”, she continually rambled on.

He did not do anything though, he just listened to her, chuckling at her innocent ramblings. Of course it did not take him long to notice that she had stopped talking, and now had her head titled in his direction.

“You needn't concern yourself with that Hoshie”, he explained almost confidently.

“Wait, you mean that's happened to you before”, she asked as his smirk remained on his long face.

“Oh, you'd be surprised. In fact, it's probably the fifth time I've found myself asleep there”, he remarked rather confidently, that is until he saw her giggling at him.

“Oh, I see. Is that why you're such a grumpy-pants in the morning”, she said in an almost mocking tone, one which annoyed him greatly.

Somehow, he managed to control his anger, though that did not stop him from letting out a frustrated sigh.

“I wish you wouldn't harp on that”, he explained as his gaze shifted away from her for a second.

“Well, what would be the fun in that silly”, she asked him rather sweetly.

By now, his gaze had shifted back towards her and the big smile she wore on her face. Seeing that made him chuckle a bit, before returning it with his own smile. They remained silent for a little while, until Hoshie finally opened her mouth to speak again.

“Well...I should probably get going”, she remarked as she began to get up from her spot on the bed. Umatarou did not flinch however, even as he watched her. Instead, he merely grabbed her wrist.

“What's wrong” she asked as she sat herself back down on the bed.

“It's one in the morning”, he calmly explained.

“So” she asked.

“Your dorm room is halfway across campus”, the usually quiet man further explained to her.

“Oh, you don't need to worry about that; I can take full care of myself”, she replied.

Normally, he would have chuckled at that remark. Instead, he just stared at her with a stern grimace on his face.

“That's not what concerns me”, he calmly explained.

“But that's how it sounds though”, she said as her more devious tone caught him off guard.

“That's not-”, Umatarou began to shout before he stopped himself.

With a small sigh, he looked to face her in the eye again, even though he felt cheeks were becoming a soft, pink hue.

“What I mean is that you're-”

“I'm what”, she asked.

“You're...”, he tried to explain.

For what was probably the first time in his life, he could not find the right words to say to someone. If anything, he felt his stomach begin to tighten the more she looked at him. There was no denying it, he was now backed into a corner. Realizing that, he he let out a deep sigh before facing her again.

“Please try and understand Hoshie...It's just that I...I've just grown so fond of your company-”

Was all he could say before he felt her lips graze his own. Naturally, he was surprised by this happening so suddenly. Eventually though, he could not help but be taken in by how sweet it felt, how tender her lips felt against his as he closed his eyes and kissed back. For him, it felt like it would last an eternity. But eventually, they both had no choice but to come up for air. By now, he was more dazed than shocked. Looking at Hoshie though, she looked much more satisfied as she flashed a small smile his way.

“You don't have to say anything...”, she said to him.

Umatarou was actually quite shocked to hear her say that, but eventually, his shock faded as a visible smirk formed on his face.

“Really”, he asked a little bit more playfully.

“Of course silly-”

Was all he heard her say before he planted another kiss on her soft lips. At first, he did not feel her lips return his kiss. Eventually though, he could feel her kissing him back. After a short while, they came up for air, unable to keep from smiling sweetly at one another.

To be continued...