This chapter is pretty long but for a good reason :p Hope you enjoy your reading!

CREDITS TO : UTA NO PRINCE SAMA

CHAPTER 16

Tokiya and Otoya's room, 11.03 a.m.

Tokiya : Shucks!

Otoya : Yeayyyy, I won again!!

Natsuki: Syo-chan, I bought a Piyo-chan shirt for you! Please put this on and you will look much cuter!

Syo : Who said I want to be cuter, idiot!?

Ren : Moshi – moshi, Pretty Girl. Are you free today? Let's go out and I will show you the... (basically, he kept flapping his gums about how beautiful Maaya is and how he would continue to hit on her even she kept saying that 'love is forbidden' according to their principal).

Masato: Poor Hazuki though... having to listen to that stupid flirt.

Cecil : Masato, please have some pities for my clothes. You are supposed to sew it, not tear it!

"Hey, guys..." Otoya suddenly put his game console down as his Cell was kicked by Tokiya's Super Vegeta incessantly. They were currently playing Dragon Ball game after Otoya forced his roommate to join him before getting surprised how zealous that blue head could be. "Have you guys already asked someone to be your dancing partner for the dancing night?"

"Nope. Not yet," Masato and Cecil responded him almost in unison.

"I already dibs on Pretty Girl," Ren replied, proudly.

"Pretty Girl?" Tokiya twiched his eyebrows before smiling proudly as he finally defeated Otoya after losing the match for three times already.

"He means Hazuki, his future wife," Syo answered him while rolling his eyes.

"It seems like Ren is head over heels in love with Maaya as well. What an interesting development," Cecil smiled in satisfaction. This was what he wanted. It was already the time when each of them (except Tokiya) moved on and opened their heart to another girl instead of loving Haruka who obviously had her eyes only for certain blue head.

"Hey, even a playboy like me can change and be a good lover, you know," Ren was being narcissistic for God-knows-how-many-times, sending the others to give him a look of disgust except Natsuki and Otoya.

"Good for you then," Masato remarked sarcastically. "How about you, Ittoki?"

"I want to invite Nozomi," Otoya grinned brightly, gaining himself smiles from others. Obviously, he was madly in love with the childhood friend of him. "But considering the 'love is forbidden' rule, I guess I have to be more careful, though.."

"Yup, that's true," Syo breathed a heavy sigh, followed by others.

"I think we should somehow rebel against the principal so that Icchi and Little Lamb can date properly like other people."

"You mean, 'so that YOU and HAZUKI can date properly like other people', right?"

"Touche. Well, Hijirikawa, if the principal amends the rule, you and Shizuka-chan can also do calligraphy and sew clothes together.."

"Quit flapping your gums, Jinguji."

"But seriously, what's with the stupid rule, though? I still can't believe that we cannot be in relationship with someone that we like. We are also a human being for crying out loud! We deserve to love and be loved and that's the nature of human being!!" Cecil suddenly got dramatic and cringe-making while spreading his arms to the sky.

"Those are some funny lines coming from a cat," Tokiya muttered sarcastically while his blue eyes still glued to the screen.

"Said a guy who acted aloof while in fact, he used to compliment a certain cute black cat 32 times a day," Cecil retorted before forming an evil smile as his attention turned to the blue head.

"Shut up!"

"Then, how about you, Tokiya-kun? Do you already have someone in your mind?" Natsuki interrupted before those two boys fought and got themselves into detention again, especially when Tokiya almost turned into a violent monster.

"Me?" the moment he suddenly turned into a cynosure in the room, Tokiya knew there was no way he could play dumb around these annoying dorks. "Not.. yet."

"Tokiya already has someone who already dibs on him. This lucky bastard.." Otoya also curved an evil smile and for some reasons, Tokiya could find a resemblance between the red head and Cecil.

"She is waiting for you, Icchi," Ren's casual remark sent the blue head panicky.

"It's not nice to make a girl wait, Ichinose," Masato's stern warning made Tokiya gasping in shock. Well, it was surprising how the usual conservative Masato suddenly acted like a matchmaker. Not to mention that all this time, the blue head always had his back.

"Does she really wait for me to ask her? What if.."

"Of course she does, you blockhead!" before Tokiya knew it, his teammates already cockblocked him and yelled angrily (well, again, except Otoya and Natsuki who just simply sighed in disbelief).

"Who else would she wait for, you cat lover!?" Cecil continued to criticize the blue head.

"Tokiya, for someone who always acted in a romantic film, you sure can be this oblivious sometimes," Syo sighed heavily. Even he was polite but it still sounded like a cruel insult.

"She loves you dearly, Icchi. Who else will she wait for? I bet if it is not because of the rule, she might already jump you.."

"And she will hug and kiss you here and there," Natsuki interrupted so cheerfully as if he was talking about Piyo-chan.

"You guys.." Tokiya, Syo and Otoya restrained themselves from showing an ashamed look.

"Oi, Natsuki, Ren! Don't talk about something mature like that so casually! Tokiya is not like us! His mind is only 17 years old so you cannot bring up such a hot topic like that!" despite squabbling with Tokiya most of the time, Cecil still considered about Tokiya's feeling.

"That's what concerned you, Aijima-san? You should concern about how adults can talk about something perverted casually when in fact, it can be a threat to our future generation!" Tokiya suddenly turned dramatic.

"You already sound like a father who gets worried about the future of his son. Interesting, Tokiya.." Cecil smirked but it was enough to push Tokiya's buttons.

"Excuse me?"

Then, again, they suddenly started bickering even when they were supposed to be in the same party just now. While the others (except Ren who continued chatting with Maaya and Masato who sewed Cecil's shirt), they tried to break the bickering even they absolutely had no ideas what the hell did Tokiya and Cecil fight about.

The next morning, while Tokiya was brushing teeth, he was served with the sight of Natsuki's bright smile, greeting him while bringing his own toothbrush and toothpaste. Well, why did they end up in the same bathroom when they are not roommates, let alone sharing the same bathroom? It was because all STARISH members ended up having a slumber party in Tokiya's room after discussing and practising for their graduation audition.

"Ohaiyo, Tokiya-kun!"

"Ohaiyo.The others are still asleep, huh?"

"Yes. They are probably still tired from the last night practice. Are you going to go to the kitchen after this?"

"No," as he muttered the single word, Tokiya realized since Haruka has started to provide him bento three times a day, he did not even need to cook anymore. The girl sure knew how to overindulge him. Even he felt bad for the composer, but he could not resist those delicious cooking.

"Me too. Tomo-chan promised me to cook me a bento everyday for the rest of the week."

"Oh... I see..." Tokiya twitched his brows as he came into realization about...

Since when Shibuya-san is mandatory to cook a breakfast for Shinomiya-san? Yes, they are close since they are in the same class and they do hang out together but..

"Tomo-chan is going to give me a bento everyday for the rest of the week. Is she sweet, Tokiya-kun?"

"Of course she is."

"Just like what my mum used to say, to win a man's heart, a girl's cooking is the must. You must enjoy Haru-chan's, right? I realized that you've gained weight, Tokiya-kun."

"Have I?" the blue eyes widened in shock. Tokiya quickly observed his reflection in the mirror before realizing that he could not agree more with Natsuki.

"It's okay, Tokiya-kun. If you gained weight, it means she does win your heart. Does she? Does she?" as Natsuki turned bubblier than usual, his face creepily moved closer to Tokiya's, who could not help but moving backward.

"Wait, Shinomiya-san. Why did you suddenly talk about her and Shibuya-san? Could it be.." his cobalt blue eyes quickly turned wider again as he finally put two and two together. "Shinomiya-san, you are.."

"Not so loud, Tokiya-kun," with his smiling eyes, his big hand closed Tokiya's mouth before typically screaming the truth out loud (a reaction you can see almost in every drama) even Tokiya was not the type of being deafening no matter how shocked he could be. "But that's not my point. Instead, I want to help you as your friend, Tokiya-kun."

"Helping me as in..?"

"Your feeling to Haru-chan. You are still confused about what you feel about her, right? Or perhaps.. you are restraining yourself because of the 'love is forbidden' rule?"

"I can say both. Moreover, I don't want to give her a false hope so I want to confirm about what I feel about her."

"Eh? Is that so? I thought that you are already in love with Haru-chan. You know what, Tokiya-kun? Last night, I had a dream that both of us confronted principal so that he would allow us to date like normal people but we were expelled instead. Haha."

For some reasons, Tokiya felt that suddenly telling him about his weird dream was not just Natsuki's random talk.

"No worries, Tokiya-kun. I will try my best to help you! That's my promise!" Natsuki grabbed and held Tokiya's smaller hand, much to the blue head's bewilderment. "Now, first and foremost, put your hand on your chest like this," the jolly Natsuki suddenly turned determined as he placed Tokiya's pale-skinned hand on Tokiya's chest.

"Okay," while wondering about what the hell did he do in the bathroom with Natsuki instead of brushing teeth, he reluctantly obeyed his teammate.

"Now, I will give you a bunch of questions about you and Haru-chan. You don't need to answer me out loud. Just answer it in your head, okay?"

"Okay."

"Yosh! First question.. when you know that Haru-chan only has her eyes for you, as time goes by, do you feel happy?"

Yes, he did. No. Come to think of it, feeling happy was totally an understatement.

"When you bumped into her, do you feel like... ah, it is not about her adorableness only that made you feel warm but her presence alone is enough to make you think that whatever problems you are going through, you think you can surpass it?"

Her sweet face crossed his mind and just like what Natsuki suggested, he felt a warmness that only he could get from her. Just the thought of her literally saved his days especially when he was troubled with his persona, Hayato and the endless conflicts with his mother.

"Do you feel like... this girl.. I want to make her mine. I don't want to lose her to somebody else."

His fair-skinned face turned redder as the question hit him like a a smack on the head. As his blue eyes widened, signaling that he was this close to solve his puzzlement, Natsuki was smiling brightly. It seemed like the big guy also could read his mind.

"But at the same time, you feel like, this wonderful girl.. I don't deserve her. She deserves someone better than me.. I am nothing compared to her.."

Another smack on his head!

Having a hunch that his friends also love Haruka, Tokiya could not help but feeling that she should just move on instead of returning to her past and creating more memories with him.

Because.. Does that mean if the more bitter-sweet memories you shared with that particular person, the more you feel dejected if the person leaves you in the long run?

"It seems like you are this close to puzzle it out, Tokiya-kun. Next question, these days, you think that her happiness is your happiness. And to make her smiles, you will do anything because she used to say that your happiness is her happiness too. Am I right?"

As he listened to the last question, Tokiya knew that he already found the answer.

"I love her, Shinomiya-san."

"Eh?"

"I love Nanami Haruka."

Slowly, Natsuki curved in a satisfied and happy smile to him. He patted Tokiya's shoulder as the sign of congratulating him.

"I am so glad for you, Tokiya-kun! Haru-chan must feel happy if you tell her."

"Hope so. Thank you, Shinomiya-san. You are such a good friend. If it was not because of you, I think I will still become an idiot fot not recognizing his own feeling... wait," Tokiya's grateful face suddenly turned confused. "Come to think of it, those questions that you asked me.. I think I have heard them somewhere.."

"Rather than questions, you have heard that in form of statements, right?"

"Yes, yes.. But where.."

"Rather than statements, they are in form of confession, right?"

"Yeah. Eh?" Tokiya froze for a while before...

"Shinomiya-san, did you just copy Nanami-san's confession when we were in my house?"

"Hai, right after your mother left the house!" Natsuki admitted cheerfully, caused Tokiya's legs to give out out of shock. "Do you remember, Tokiya-kun? Haru-chan said to you that those statements that I asked you are what the future you feels about her. She also said that she feels the same. So, I am here because I want to help you to figure out either you feel the same way to Haru-chan."

"Wow..." Tokiya exclaimed while trying hard to not be speechless. He knows, he should not be surprised with Natsuki's strong memory since the guy is a genius after all. "That method of yours, Shinomiya-san... It's awesome."

"Thank you, Tokiya-kun!"

"No, no. I should be the one who say that instead. Thank you, Shinomiya-san. This is a second time I seek for some advices from you and I must say your help means a lot to me," Tokiya smiled chummily at him, attempting to form it as bright as possible to match Natsuki's smile.

Actually, words could not describe how much he felt grateful to the big guy. He would sure pay his good deed soon.

"Awhh, Tokiya-kun! You look even cuter when you smile like that! Can I hug you?" out of nowhere, Natsuki's cuteness-freak mode was activated again before bearhugging the blue head tightly.

"What!? Wait! Where did that come from? Shinomiya-san, I cannot breathe!"

The struggle was very real once you found yourself trapped in Natsuki's hug. It was suffocating since like for the time being, Natsuki treated you as the cutest and most precious little creature in the world.

"Waaa, Shinomiya-san! Let me go!" the idol's face started to turn redder with such an overaffectionate contact.

"I won't! You look so small and cute, Tokiya-kun!"

"Hey, I am not small!"

"You are seven centimetres shorter than me! Ah, come to think of it, I used to hold the late Tokiya-kun high! You know, that takai, takai thing.. Ah, what a memory.."

"What? Did you do something like that to him?" Tokiya's face turned white as paper as he could predict what would happen next while suddenly feeling sympathetic to the future him.

Please don't do it again.. please don't do it again... please don't do it...

"I guess that I will do it again!"

Shucks!

"What!? No!! Please listen to me, Shinomiya-san!"

Tokiya accidentally pushed Natsuki's glasses as he struggled to stop Natsuki from tossing him to the air until it was thrown away to the floor.

There was a moment of silence. Tokiya knew that nothing could be creepier than being held by Natsuki who was now without his glasses because..

Believe it or not, this gentle and Piyo-chan lover has suffered a split personality disorder and that 'another personality' of gentle Natsuki was no other than.....

Satsuki, the violent guy who, according to his friends, just attacked any souls around him.

Yet, in Tokiya's case, he was no longer in the 'around' category but he was held tightly by Satsuki's strong arms for crying out loud! He was totally trapped! Was he digging his own grave now even he was not the one who asked Natsuki to hug him in the first place?

"Shinomiya-san.. are you okay?"

"You.." the bright green eyes suddenly looked like he was determined to kill someone. Who else though? "I hate you."

Before they knew it, a pair of glasses was shoved by a pair of small hands, right from Satsuki's back.

It was Syo, Tokiya's savior for the morning.

"Ehh?" expectedly, Natsuki returned to normal. His green eyes grew wider while wandering everywhere. "What happened?" he turned to his back, getting himself thrilled upon seeing the adorable best friend of his. "Syo-chan, ohaiyo!! You look so cute with your bed head!"

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Tokiya muttered as he stared blankly at Syo, with his funny bed head, struggling to break Natsuki's hellish hug.

"Stop playing around and taking a bath! You are supposed to meet Shibuya, do you forget?"

"Oh my Lord! I forgot that! See you at school, Syo-chan, Tokiya-kun!"

After Natsuki got out from the room, Syo and Tokiya breathed a heavy but relieved sigh in unison.

"Thank you, Syo."

"Nah, don't mention it. What a chaotic morning, right?"

"Yeah, as expected from Shinomiya-san.."

"Are you perhaps.. being bearhugged by him?" Syo asked hesitantly while his face was ready to give the blue head an 'I feel you, bro' look.

"Yeah but I accidentally hit his glasses. I think that was Satsuki for a few seconds until you made him wore the glasses back."

"Do you mean his face looks intimidating all of sudden?" Syo could not hide his slight shock as Tokiya nodded yet later, it was replaced with a convincing smile. "I think you don't need to worry about Satsuki anymore. He had promised to Natsuki that he will be 'one' with him or meaning to say, he will let Natsuki lives his own life. He just showed up when Natsuki suffers. I guess with the way Natsuki looks so cheerful everytime he talks about Shibuya, I am positive that Satsuki will never appear again. He And Shibuya... I guess that they will be an interesting couple, considering their vivacious personality. Ah, you both also can make a good couple. Well done, Tokiya! Nanami will be very happy to hear your 'I love Nanami Haruka' part. What a good way to put it, man."

"Wait! Did you just.."

"Yes, I did," Syo slowly excused himself from the bathroom before accelerating to his bedroom, fearing the worst since he has been caught eavesdropping.

"Syo!!" Tokiya's frustrated shout managed to wake up every single soul in his room.

What happened during the lunch break on the same day was rather unexpeted. Syo secretly gave a small note to Tokiya while they were in class and apparently, Syo did not even want Ren and Cecil to know about it.

Long story short, they promised to meet at their secret rendezvous.

"Syo, why do you..." Tokiya's question was cut-short by Syo's serious face expression.

No. 'Seriousness' is not the right word. In fact...

"I am sorry," the husky voice suddenly turned dejected. "The reason why I want to meet you here because I.. I am so sorry, Tokiya."

Tokiya stared at his classmate blankly.

"What are you sorry about, Syo?"

Syo's blue eyes met his. "To tell you the truh, a few hours before the late Tokiya died, I.. I fought with him."

The cobalt blue eyes widened.

"I just broke up with my girlfriend and he saw it. I believe he knows the fact that I broke up several times because of Nanami and he tried to comfort me but.. I.. I lashed out at him because I was so stressed out. I scolded him for being the one who Nanami chose when..." Syo found it hard to continue.

"When all of you love her dearly," Tokiya added flatly.

"Wait, Tokiya.. How do you know..." Syo's blank and pale face received chuckles from the perfectionist.

"It's kind of obvious that you guys love her. I mean yeah, some of you guys have moved on but... just from the way you guys prioritize her over everything, I can tell that she is special for STARISH."

Syo smiled bitterly. "To tell you the truth, all this time, I feel so sinful to the late Tokiya to the point of... I know this sounds pathetic but every time I remember how he ended his life, how he was so persistent to sacrifice himself for Nanami.. I guess I was in no position to scold him for being the guy that Nanami chose. In fact, Nanami is so lucky for choosing him.."

"Syo.."

"I love Nanami. I truly love Nanami! Even now, I still do but seeing how she treasures you more than everything, I think can finally give up on her. You know what? after Nanami decided to marry you, while the rest of us supported you both, at the same time, we were so disappointed with her choice. Even STARISH was still together, we still cannot forget Nanami. But now, at least, the other guys started to move on and I am so happy for them."

"And at that night, when I felt sorry to explode to the late Tokiya when he didn't do anything wrong, I wanted to apologize.. I mean... I really wanted to apologize to him on the next day. I wanted to see him but the moment I knew that he was dead from protecting our precious Nanami... I.." much to Tokiya's surprise and dismay, Syo cried instantly. "It hit me hard. I can't believe that he left us so early in such disturbing way. If only I apologized to him earlier.. No, if only I didn't lash out at him at the first place.."

"Syo, don't say that.."

"Tokiya..." the small boy wiped his soaked cheeks before continuing, "I know it is too late and sounds improper but... I am sorry for what I had done to you. I.. I am really sorry."

"It's okay. I think, considering how Nanami is hard to be replaced, I am sure the late Tokiya already forgave you."

"You think so?"

"Yes," Tokiya smiled chummily. "Because he knows that you love Nanami-san so much so he understands you."

"What about you? You finally know what do you feel about her. Are you going to confess to her?"

"Yes," Tokiya's convincing answer gained a sigh of relief from Syo. "After all that we've gone through together, it is impossible for me to not feel anything about her. I still cannot forget her face expression when we were almost hit by that car."

"Speaking about the car.. I think.. I have a hunch. Just a hunch and this is the second reason why I want to meet you here. I hope this will be a secret between us."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to help you, Tokiya. You and the late Tokiya because I assume that your life is not only in danger but... I think that the lunatic fan who killed the late Tokiya is closer than we think.."

The cobalt blue eyes widened in horror.

For once in their lifetime as Saotome Academy students, they could so-called date and having fun with their respective partners only in a Saotome Academy dance night ceremony.

Ren already asked Maaya to be his dance partner, much to the whole school's shock. Well, come to think of it, since Maya became his composer for the first assignment, he ignored all those fangirls who followed him around. Instead, he turned besotted with her, much to the girl's disbelief.

Masato and Otoya would just simply ask Shizuka and Nozomi respectively since outsiders were allowed to join the event, leaving Syo and Cecil with no partners so far.

Meanwhile in A class..

"Ne, Haruka. Natsuki asked me to be his partner for the ceremony," Haruka could see the bright smile of her best friend, Tomochika. Her eyes would turn sparkling everytime she mentioned the said boy's name.

"You address him as Natsuki already? Are you guys..."

"Shhh, don't tell anyone!" Tomochika desperately and nervously looked around as they were currently in their packed class and after she made sure that nobody heard them, she continued,"he asked me to date him last week. For some reasons, I found him to be irresitable. I have this kind of feeling where I want to make him mine so I have decided to date him."

"Is that so? Congratulations, Tomo-chan."

Tomo-chan is so lucky. She can dance with someone that she loves. Her mind instantly registered the image of Tokiya.

It would be the best thing ever if she could partner him but... the choice was his. She did not want to force him when she herself was uncertain about what the blue head felt about her.

Like she used to say to him, she just wanted to be his family so should act like one.

In the evening, as she was about to go back to her dorm after doing some revisions in the library, as cliched it may sound in shoujo manga, she ended up bumping into someone who never left her mind.

To make it more cliched, the guy managed to catch her petite frame.

Ahh, what a memory... she used to bump into him so many times before but she never took them as something that she should relish until she realized her feeling to him.

"Just like what the guys said, you are incredibly clumsy," Tokiya slowly loosened his hold around her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Y..yes.."

"Where are you going?"

"I.. I am on my way to the dorm. How about you?"

"What a coincidence. I was thinking about you just now. Can we.. perhaps, walking together to the dorm?"

"Sure!" she was too happy to conceal her excitement upon realizing that she could spend more time with the blue head.

Not to mention he obviously stated that he was thinking about her.

"Okkay.. Let's go," she could see there was a slight amusement written over his pale-skinned face upon seeing her thrill.

A few minutes passed, along with silence as Tokiya and Haruka walked together.

"Ne, Nanami-san."

"Yes?"

"Actually, I.. I have something to share with you. Can you lend an ear for a while?" Tokiya's blue eyes stared the ground, seemingly fighting with himself about that 'something'.

"Sure. What is it?"

They spontanously stopped walking as soon as they arrived by their favourite gazebo. Haruka took a glance at Tokiya.

"Ichinose-san."

"Yes."

"Is it me or do you feel so nervous now?"

"Eh? Well, I do feel nervous now."

"Why?"

No answers. Instead, he just stared at anything except Haruka.

Hm.. what happened? I guess, he will talk about it later.

"Okay. So, what is it?" Haruka asked, totally excited to know because basically, she is interested in everything about him.

"I.. actually about the dance night..."

On the spur of the moment, Haruka could feel that she was the one who got more high-strung. If he mentioned about the dance night, it only meant one thing.

He would ask someone to be his partner. The thought alone made Haruka's heart sank with jealousy and sadness.

"Yes?"

"Everybody keeps talking about the dancing session and since I don't have my partner yet and Otoya won't shut up about it, I want to ask for your opinion."

"Eh? My opinion?" his question torn her heart out. "Do you actually want me to suggest some nice girls to you?"

"No, I already have someone in my mind from the start," he quickly denied it. "Not to mention that I want her to be my partner for other occasions other than the ceremony."

And now her heart turned into pieces. She knew exactly what Tokiya meant.

Who is that lucky b.. no, Haruka. You are not supposed to curse someone who is innocent. Maybe she is so wonderful in Tokiya-kun's eyes, she bit her lips in dejection even she absolutely had no ideas who else would be closer with Tokiya other than her.

But, there were quite a bunch of girls from S Class who are charismatic enough to match Tokiya, though.

"Oh, is that so?" she mentally coaxed herself to not burst into tears in front of him. She did not want to be that pathetic."Good for you, Ichinose-san. Who is.."

"Nanami-san, what will you do if a guy confesses that he loves you?" without sparing Haruka some times to be more melancholic, Tokiya cut her short with his ridiculous and no sense-of-timing question because according to Ren...

"Doing it spontaneously is better, Icchi. Being spontaneously means it comes from your heart and that's what a typical girl like Lady loves the most."

Yet, compared to his Hayato who won the hearts of the girls for his countlessly sweet and romantic roles (thanks to the script), he, Ichinose Tokiya was terrible without a script. For the first time in Tokiya's life, Tokiya felt that his sweet little guts was not enough to face the girl who stole his heart.

But, here he was, being spontaneous. Was it going to work?

"Well, I.. I will thank him but I will reject him nicely", Haruka stuttered because she honestly did not know what to feel anymore.

It was all because the no-sense-of-timing question.

"What happen if the guy is me? Are you going to reject me as well?" Tokiya looked so cool and confident to let out those lines out of his mouth when in fact..

Only God knew how much he wanted to dig the ground and hide out of embarrassment. Obviously, he was a terrible sweet talker compared to Ren. Seriously, how did Ren do this? Being cheesy with his pick up lines every time he was with Maaya.

And come to think of it, how did someone timid like Haruka easily said 'I love you' and so forth to him before without even planning to kill herself afterwards?

"Do it spontaneously is better, Icchi. Being spontaneously means it comes from your heart.."

I know, Ren! Enough with the rewind already, won't you!? Tokiya mentally scolded the actually-innocent scion from lecturing him about 'being spontaneous'.

"Ehh??" meanwhile, Haruka could feel that her cheeks sort of burned. "That.. that wil be a different story obviously. But why did you ask me about a guy who loves me?"

"Because the guy is me."

"Eh?"

It seemed like that sentence is the most impossible thing in the world to the point of it managed to make Haruka 's brain buffered as it processed the line.

Haruka was too shocked to react. She continued to stare blankly at Tokiya until the blue head could not stand it anymore.

"It's okay. Just forget that I even asked you that. See you tomorrow," he spoke too fast while cursing himself for being stupidly failed to confess and was about to head straight to the dorm when Haruka grabbed his hand.

"Ichinose-san, by any chance, could it be..." as she eventually got him, she noticed the blush on his cheeks became more obvious.

"Excuse me.." he abruptly left her but she still was persistent to know the answer.

"Ichinose-san, can you please repeat it?"

"No," he refused to meet her golden orbs, taking advantage to walk as fast as possible, considering her short legs could not catch up with his fast pace.

"Waa, Ichinose-san, please!" Haruka cried cutely as she mentally cursed herself for being so dense.

You just missed the golden chance ever, Nanami Haruka! Just go and die instead!

Suddenly, he stopped before facing Haruka, with his still crimson face.

"I love you. Satisfied?" he managed to mutter those long-awaited three words. It was such a relief when he finally confessed to her but seeing Haruka this up close, he decided that 'I love you' line was not enough. He needed to make it clear what he truly felt about Haruka in detail.

He grabbed Haruka's shoulders before pulling her closer, much to the rosette's shock.

"Nanami Haruka, I love you and you are the one who I particularly had my eyes on. At first, I think that you are a creep because you know me too much for a stranger. But as time goes by, I was touched by that creepy side of yours to the point of when you are around, I have this confidence that I can surpass no matter how hard my problems are. Not to mention that you are always there when I was hopeless. You know what I need. Your loving side made me agreed with the adult me that you are precious. I know I sound ridiculous but even I do feel that a wonderful girl like you deserves a much better guy than me, yet the thought of losing you to another guy who will receive your love which I gratefully receive it now makes me frustrated. I know I have a short time to make you happy but I really want to treasure you with all the times I had. I don't care about the 'love is forbidden' rule anymore because I don't want to lose such a wonderful girl like you or to make it short, all those weird things that the late Tokiya felt about you, what you felt about me.. I feel it now, Nanami-san!"

Here we go, Ichinose Tokiya; the spontaneous version with most of his lines were plagiarized from the future him. For sure, he would gain a respect from Jinguji Ren, the self-appointed king of spontaneity because not only he was being sincere with every single word that he blurted out to her but he also made it happened in one single heck of breath.

Yet, much to his surprise, Haruka started crying.

He used to see her crying when she was sad. So did it mean...

"Wait! Did I just make you sad, Nanami-san?" he asked while his big hands still held her shoulders.

"Which part of your confession would possibly make me sad when that is what I waiting for all this time?" she asked while still sobbing.

"Then, why are you.."

"I am happy!" she shouted. "I am happy and that's why I am crying."

"But Nanami-san, the way you cried made it look like I just scolded you for stealing my homework.."

"Did I?" she asked, rather comically with her still crying face.

Tokiya smiled, feeling entertained with this girl's reaction before he gave her kisses on her cheeks. Just like a magic but not enough to be a surprise, she stopped crying immediately.

She felt like she was blessed with the form of...

No, that was too cheesy, too cringe-worthy. But one thing for sure was...

My husband and this younger version of Tokiya sure like to kiss my cheeks. Waaaaa, I cannot handle this! she thought out of panic as the realization about Tokiya's habit since they went out until they got married crossed her mind.

Come to think of it, this kind of skinship is the first one I received from him, shortly after our confession.

"Ichinose-san, I am surprised that you can initiate a skinship like this," she responded to him with the similar line when he kissed her cheeks for the first time.

Yet, his response was actually the climax of the day.

"Only with you and it is because I love you, Nanami-san. I swear, after this, I will be the best man for you. I will protect you and I will even sacrifice my life for you if the situation asks for it.. Thank you, Nanami-san. Thank you for loving me all this time."

The same lines. It was the same with his vow on that day.

"Okay. That was enough for today," he suddenly broke his tight hug before turning his back towards her. Haruka did not need to be a genius to guess how Tokiya felt so embarrassed. "I never thought a confession would be so hard to do. I am going back to the dorm. See you tomorrow."

See you tomorrow? No, I can't wait for tomorrow!

"Ichinose-san!" she suddenly jumped onto him before hugging him tightly, causing both of them toppled to the ground. Luckily, other students were already at their dorm so the risk for the love birds to get caught red-handed was low even they still had to be careful.

"That hurts!"

"Sorry. I guess I am just too excited," she stroked his head playfully, caused him to roll his eyes.

"Well, you are always excited everytime I see you."

"Well, you are the one who always make me overexcited, Ichinose-san!"

"It's my fault now!?"

"No, it's our's faults!"

"But you still make it like my fault as well when I am innocent all this time."

"In this situation, how come you still claimed that you are innocent, you bad boy!? You're guilty because you make my heart skipped a beat," she put her hand onto her chest dramatically. "I bet you also feel the same right? Considering how nervous you are right now."

"I am not," Tokiya tried to put a poker face but to no avail. Instead, he was this close to scream at the world just how embarrassed he felt right now.

"Owhh, you tsundere! Let me hear you heartbeat... Wow, it pumps faster too. I guess it makes two of us."

"Hey, don't just casually put your ears on somebody's chest like that!"

"I won't do like that on somebody chest other than yours. Wait, Ichinose san! Do you feel jealouse right now? Aww, you are such a cutie!"

"Don't call me cutie!"

"Then, can I call you Tokiya-kun, Tokiya-kun?"

"You already called me that."

"Can I?"

"Whatever you want."

"Then, try calling me 'Haruka'."

"No way!!"

As they continued enjoying their times together, they never knew their recklessness when love is forbidden in the school might cause another disaster. 

End of chapter 16! Finally, they dated! So, do you like this chapter? Feel free to let me know what do you think because I always want to improve my writing. Thanks a lot to ChiToNaru-san and XHaquaX-san for the comments and votes! You guys and AngelLilica-san are the reasons why I feel pumped to continue my story. And also thanks for suazrina-san for adding this story into your library! I hope that you will enjoy reading this story as well.    

And speaking about this chapter, the reason why I posted it sooner because I want to take a break for a while. Apart from because of my personal commitment and want to update my second fanfic, the other reason is since Haruka and Tokiya officially dated, I really want to write their high school love story.. I mean how they went out for a date, how they acted around each other after they developed their relationship for the next chapter but I absolutely.. I mean absolutely don't have any idea to begin with..lol. I guess I will use this break to watch movies or something to get some inspiration. So, sayonara!