CHAPTER 31

          Come morning, I was awoken by a furious mob.

          Granted, the said 'furious mob' wasn't one aimed towards me, rather the red-faced male pushed back against the wall, a mess of all things awkward.

"I-I swear I don't know! I went to bed on an empty futon and then sh-she just—"

Hibiki didn't buy that. He knelt on one knee, seizing Wannabe's collar and shaking him like a madman. "You corrupted my precious Miyuki! You somehow went into her room to seduce her and talked her into sleeping with you—here of all places! Trying to brag by having your damn arms around her—"

Hiro jumped in to get a chance to yell Wannabe's ear off. "And you even went and drew on our faces with a—"

"Guys, as happy as Kazu should be that he actually got a girl in bed with him, I really don't think he has the balls to draw on our faces." Yuji was the only voice of reason. He sourly wiped at his top lip and at the marking of a bushy moustache. "But I do know someone who would."

I hauled myself forward, groggily rubbing at my eyelids only to find all eyes had steered in my direction. Though I knew I should've been mortified that I had actually fallen asleep in that awkward position, it was morning. The sunlight pouring in from the open window was brighter than my eyes could handle, leaving me to squint. My mind was also still in a sluggish state.

"Good morning." I yawned, craning my head in their direction and resting my chin on my knees.

Slowly fluttering my eyelashes, I took in the fact that all boys (including even Yuji) were frozen in place. No blinking, no talking—I don't even think they were breathing. Bug-eyed and mouth-dropped; their hormones were in disarray.

"Miyuki!" Hibiki's holler jolted my heartbeat, more so when he'd scrambled to my side and shook my shoulders. "You're a girl! Why are you acting all defenceless in a boys room?"

The rattling of my brain got on my nerves soon enough. Swatting him away from me, I narrowed my eyes into a glare—an exasperated one though, considering my weariness.

"What?" Another yawn came over me. My heavy eyelids drooped shut and I rubbed them yet again. I collapsed onto the pillow, pulling up the covers to shield myself from the cold. "Let me sleep some more," I murmured. "Wannabe took up all the room last night anyway."

I made myself as comfortable as I could without the slightest regard to the piercing stares in my direction, but nonetheless, my words were met with silence.

Then loud consecutive bangs.

Wannabe hitting his forehead on the ground repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry—"

"Miyuki!" an offended Hibiki screeched, vehemently shaking my shoulder once again. "So that bastard really did seduce you?"

"No," I grumbled, nudging him away for the final time. I sighed, my voice drifting off. "Wannabe was sleeping. I came to get my phone... drew on your faces... but before I could get to Wannabe he just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go."

"Wouldn't," gasped Hiro.

"Let," said Yuji with slanted eyes.

"Go!?" Hibiki nearly fainted on the spot.

"I was sleeping!" Wannabe defended before they—mainly Hibiki—could jump him to rearrange his face— "Ow!"

Never mind. I guess he'd already got to him.

"I'm so sorry, Hoshino!" Wannabe yelled again, poking his head around for freedom. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry—"

"I tried waking him up," I spoke again, their yelling giving me a headache. I hid my face behind the blanket even further. "Punching him, pulling his hair, but he only clung to me tighter. The idiot kept me up practically the whole night."

Hiro was pale as snow. "He kept you up..."

"All," continued Yuji.

"Night?!" Hibiki shrieked yet again.

There was a crash to the floor, Hibiki's body.

"Just lock me up right here," blubbered Wannabe. "In all my years of living, I can't believe I've harassed a girl in my sleep and not even remember a single deed a wolf like me tried to—"

"What the hell, guys!" I yelled, bolting upright in a heap of frustration. "Stop taking this the wrong way! And Wannabe, I seriously will kill you if you keep running your mouth like that." My head snapped in their direction. Hiro had Wannabe's collar in a twist, Hibiki was sulking in a ball on the floor, Yuji was watching this all unfold in utter horror. Now that I was awake, this entire situation was becoming a little too real too quickly. My cheeks burned with sudden heat, my next couple words accompanied by an unexpected voice crack, "N-nothing happened! We just slept... somewhat together, for a couple hours! It was completely an accident! Let's drop this already, okay?"

I'd steered their attention towards myself yet again. Blushing would've been the least of my concerns, but the more their stares dug into me, the redder I got—to the point where I was nearly as red as 707's hair from Mystic Messenger. My skin crawled with goosebumps, face most likely hot enough to cook a three-course meal on.

"Um." Takuma poked his head through the small crack of his door. A tiny awkward, though amused smile quirked up his lips, but unlike us he'd already gotten changed. "Hate to ruin this youthful mood, but it's eight o'clock. We should be heading for breakfast then the museum."

The boys were still in a daze.

"I'll go vacuum my teeth," Hiro mumbled before darting to the washroom.

"I think I should check outdoors for water to cleanse my outsides." Wannabe was out the door with a towel at that.

"I don't know what gibberish they've said, but I'll get ready too," Yuji said, bobbing his head politely at Takuma. Then, avoiding my eyes entirely, he'd taken a towel and disappeared to the baths also.

Takuma also excused himself, saying he had to talk to the people at the front desk, leaving a still face-planted Hibiki and me alone in this room.

My heartbeat was still beating like a drill, and I covered my face with my cooler hands. Ugh! Why were they making such a big deal out of this! It wasn't like I could've gotten myself out of the situation! I really did try for what was probably hours. And even though it was all Wannabe's fault, I knew the guy didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't either so couldn't we just leave this entire event behind us?

From my peripheral vision, I caught Hibiki picking himself off the ground with his palms. I couldn't even bring it in myself to look at him.

There was absolutely nothing I had to be ashamed for, but all at once that was all I felt. I swiftly shook my head from side to side. It was a accident. It was. And if they weren't going to take the initiative, I would work to brush this all aside. Now go get ready before they all could come storming back in here and further escalate this embarrassment.

Agreeing with that idea, I picked myself off the ground. Hibiki was still in the room, rummaging through his luggage for morning supplies. The silence wasn't exactly easy to tolerate, even for me.

          "Um," I finally got out. "Hibiki—"

"You should get ready."

My voice caught in my throat. Hibiki picked himself up, and when I saw his countenance as he sauntered towards the doorway—one that radiated no means of emotion whatsoever—my eyebrows rose even higher.

He passed me without even batting an eyelash. I swirled around on my toes. "Hibiki—"

He was gone before I could finish, leaving me with even more unease than before.

Regardless, I got up and went to get ready. Considering the time of morning, a few others who were also on a trip here were in the hot springs, allowing for a little awkward chitchat there. After I arrived back in my room, I dried my hair and threw it into a high ponytail. Then I slipped into a pair of dark washed jeans and a blue short-sleeved top. I also tossed on the same sneakers I'd worn from yesterday, and after securing my bag and its necessities and double checking my overall appearance in the mirror one last time, I was out the door.

The guys were already waiting in the main lobby when I arrived, all dressed rather fittingly as well. Takuma was still talking to the ladies at the counter. I couldn't hear what they were talking about from here, but considering that the ladies were smiling and giggling like idiots, it really opened my eyes to the fact that Takuma really was apart of Wannabe's family. Both were hopeless flirts.

"Hoshino," Hiro hissed, stomping up to me. Lifting up his cap, he pointed to his left eye that still maintained a hazy black circle. "I can barely get this off."

I suppressed my smile the best I could. "In my defence, I used the marker you guys used on Yuji."

Hiro froze up, shushing me immediately. "He doesn't know that yet—"

"Oh." My eyebrows rose when Yuji swung an arm over his shoulder, an edgy smile in place. "So Hiro's the one who drew on my face?"

Unlike Hiro, Yuji had gotten the ink off his skin. His complexion was glowing and he even styled his shaggy hair in a fancy manner as well.

Regardless, I bobbed my head innocently. "I was trying to get back at them for you."

Hiro shot me a glower before drifting his gaze back to Yuji. "My hand slipped," he excused.

Immediately, Hiro's face lost its colour. He slapped at Yuji's arm, appearing on the verge of losing oxygen—the guy's grip was most likely deadly.

"Did it now?" Yuji asked, unimpressed.

"Hibiki's. Idea."

Yuji's expression fell flat as Hiro struggled against his grip. He unhanded him at once, and Hiro fumbled forward, unappealingly gasping for as much air as he could.

Yuji's eyes flickered to me and he approached me with a huge pout. "Miyuki are you telling me you're the only one on my side? I was totally convinced you were a pervert."

Heat flooded my cheeks. "That isn't... wasn't— It was an accident, jeez!"

My exasperation practically bubbled and tipped over. Yuji only broke out into a laugh as he leaned over and ruffled my hair. "Aww, you're just so easy to fluster."

"Yuji," Hiro pressed.

"Leave Hoshino alone." This time it was Wannabe himself who'd come to my rescue. "We've both decided to leave this event behind us."

"Exactly," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "No more doodling on other people's faces or sleep-hugging innocent bystanders. We're enjoying this trip and that's final."

I spoke my thoughts with one hundred percent honesty. What I didn't account for though, was Wannabe growing redder with every passing second. He eventually slapped his hands over his face, the red noticeable to the tips of his ears.

"I'm a terrible human being."

My heart dropped in my chest. "That's not—"

"Yeah. You can be a little proud," Yuji responded, bobbing his head. "You slept with a girl like Miyuki in your arms."

Now Wannabe wasn't the only one blushing. We both took small steps away from each other, and I swallowed down my growing embarrassment. "Anyway," I coughed. "The museum."

Hiro tugged Yuji back by the ear, and sent him a reprimanding scowl. Yuji innocently shrugged to which Hiro gave him a short thwack on the head with the back of his hand.

Regardless, Wannabe kept flickering his gaze from the floor to me, and when we met eyes, he timidly turned the other cheek. My heart's pace grew more erratic in my ears, but my bashfulness was thwarted when I caught another pair of eyes lingering on me from behind. I rotated around automatically, but Hibiki's focus had flitted elsewhere—onto a nearby poster.

He was wearing a grey button-down dress shirt and jeans. Beneath his cap there were even earbuds in his ears, giving me the notice he was listening to music. It was apparent he'd also scrubbed as hard as he could to rid his face from the black marker—much to no avail—but nonetheless, his typical flamboyant energy wasn't there.

Even when Takuma returned and had started leading us through the city, our location of a good place for breakfast being our focus, the guy didn't try looking at me, let alone talk. No cocky air of finality; no flirting.

It wasn't like I didn't secretly hope he would stop with his childish remarks and comments one day, but when he was this silent it rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, the others were clearly letting this slide. Why did it affect him so much?

After breakfast, we headed to the museum. I couldn't help but wish Hinata had been here to see all the beautiful pieces. Wannabe and Hiro were trying to keep a leash on Yuji who kept wandering around aimlessly while I tried making little cracks to get Hibiki to talk to me. It didn't work out so well.

Every time I tried, Hibiki would immediately strike up a conversation with Takuma or even the other guys. It was clear he wanted nothing to do with me, not that I could call him out for it out in public. For somebody who claimed he was so good at acting, he was terribly revealing.

As soon as we exited the museum, Yuji spotted some really interesting food stand and went racing towards it. Hiro went to stop him, Wannabe in pursuit with yells that he had to let him try a piece. Takuma sighed loudly and spared a small glance our way.

"Running away in an unfamiliar city... Kids these days. I'll go get them," he told Hibiki and me. "You two can wait here until I get back."

"I'll come along," Hibiki said quickly, making me frown.

Seeming to catch onto that, Takuma shook his head. "And leave an innocent and defenceless girl out here by herself?"

Amusement curled up my lips as I peered upwards. Hibiki stared at me. Turning back to Takuma, he deadpanned.

"What innocent and defenceless girl? Just last night she snuck into our room just to sleep with—"

I elbowed him in the gut. He reeled over with an 'oomph.' Worry etched itself upon Takuma's face but I quickly laughed it off.

"Go right ahead, Takuma-san. We'll stay here."

I politely bobbed my head one last time before dragging Hibiki away from a perplexed Takuma, to the nearest empty bench. Takuma sent me a brief wave before making his departure. Hibiki gave me a stern look and after sending him the nicest smile I could, he rolled his eyes and fell into the open seat.

He'd already started swiping at his phone, putting on some song before casting his head back and blocking me off entirely. Puffing my cheeks up, I collapsed down beside him, bending forward and bringing my face closer to his. That was it. I'd had enough of this entire thing.

"Hibiki," I called.

He didn't respond.

"Hibiki," I tried again.

He turned the other cheek, adjusting his hat on his head.

"Hello?" I tried anyway, gently pinching his cheek. "Listen to me you narcissistic playboy—"

"I'm not a narcissist."

My heart instantly swelled when Hibiki sent me a glare. A smile grew on my face, glad I had finally gotten through to him. "So you're not denying the playboy part?" I said.

He was quiet at first. "Oh hush it."

He was finally talking to me. The joy from that success didn't disintegrate for a while. As if realizing he had broken his silent pact, Hibiki flinched and grumpily turned his body around. I could only laugh.

"I seriously can't believe you," he said.

I shook my head, sitting properly against the bench. "Yeah right," I responded. "If it were you in Wannabe's place you wouldn't have cared the slightest."

"Yes, I would've!" Hibiki's shout caught me off guard. He held my gaze at once, sudden sincerity reflecting on his features. "I would've," he reiterated. "I know I joke around a lot but I wouldn't actually do anything to you. I care about you to much to. So when you just let another guy have his arms all around you and shrug it aside so easily... it makes me realize just how little you look out for yourself."

"It was an accident, Hibiki."

All means of emotions slipped from Hibiki's features, and I knew I screwed up. Again. He readjusted his earbuds and started up his music, raising the volume so loud that even I could hear it from my distance.

"Hibiki," I pressed.

No response. My gut wrenched in even more guilt. Jeez!

Gritting my teeth, I grabbed his sleeve, forcing him to meet my eyes. "Oh, c'mon," I said. "You have to know things didn't unfold that way. It was an accident! A mistake! Neither of us meant for that to happen and you know it! That's why I've been 'shrugging it aside' and trying to forget it but you're just making things so difficult!"

Hibiki's frown still didn't waver, but after a couple more seconds of eye-contact, he sighed and plopped an earbud out of his ear.

"What about my beautiful face you marked?"

"I'm sorry for that too, okay?" I reached over and placed my hand on his cheek. A little bit of ink was still visible, even the whole 'idiot' snippet. The same was with his eyebrows, but his hat had done a good job of shielding it. A warm smile worked its way to my face and I was hoping it was suffice to make amends. "You rock a unibrow," I joked.

Hibiki heaved a loud sigh, pushing his cap further to hide his face. "You're lucky you have a pretty face."

"If I didn't would you have messed mine up too?" I teased. "What a rebel."

Hibiki pushed out his lower lip. "You know, when I first transferred to Seisein, just because I have darker skin the entire school thought I was some gangster, from Europe or something. They were disappointed to learn I was born and raised here in Japan."

I laughed at the memories. "I'm not sure how they came up with those rumours either, but you sounded so exotic."

"I'm guessing you were disappointed too?"

"I think our first encounter at school can answer that," I replied and grinned. "But it isn't too bad now."

Hibiki bumped my shoulder. "No. I guess it isn't."

Relieved that the tension in the air had elevated to none I let my shoulder sag a bit. My eyes glided to him. "So what are you listening to?"

In response, Hibiki nudged me closer and handed me an earbud. My shoulder against his, I pushed the bud into my ear, and automatically, the music playing took me off guard. I'd completely forgot he was into rock.

"You're killing your ears," I told him as I slipped it out.

"I'd beg to differ," Hibiki said, beckoning for me to keep it. He dug out his phone and scrolled through his playlist. "Mortal Mania does other genres of music too. I'll play you something mellow."

He gestured for me to put it back in my ear and reluctantly I did. Soon enough, a headstrong, catchy tune took its place. Hibiki snorted when I bobbed my head to the tune.

"It's catchy," I said.

"The chorus is the best part."

I waited through the rap sequence and amazing vocals from the female singer until the chorus came on. My neck continued to move to the music, and seeing as Hibiki motioned for me to stop, I only kept it up.

"Stop," he hissed, shooting me a look. "Don't dance."

"I feel the vibes."

"What?" Hibiki grabbed my shoulders, paying paranoid glances to passersby. "You're not only embarrassing yourself, you're embarrassing me here."

I rose my arms and began bobbing my shoulders around.

"Miyuki," he tried.

At strangers aghast glances, Hibiki immediately pried the earbud out of my ear, scooted away from me and face-palmed to himself.

"Ugh, you're such a dork."

Snickering, I collided my shoulder with his as he wrapped his cord around his cellphone screen and shoved it into his pocket. "I learn from the best."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm not dorky."

"Oh please," I scoffed.

Hibiki breathed through his nose. "Those anime boys you watch can be dorks, but not me."

I rolled my eyes. "You're basically that flirtatious character in every anime that doesn't remotely have a chance with the main character, and yet still pursues her despite the many fans you already have at your beck and call."

"Then I can feel for that poor dude or dudette because main characters are extremely oblivious."

I shrugged. "That's true."

"Just saying, that refers to you, too."

My features scrunched up in disbelief. "I'm not oblivious. Nor am I a main character," I refuted. I bobbed my head. "I'm more of the devil's daughter. An undercover assassin. A kick-ass ninja—"

"All those can be a dense main character," he pointed out.

I pursed my lips. "Does that make you the dense main character's best friend?"

Hibiki deadpanned. "The fact that you just said that isn't helping your point."

I cocked an eyebrow. "So you don't want to be my best friend?"

"No," he responded, as impassive as last time. "And I want you to sneak into my bed at night too."

My cheeks grew ten shades redder. "W-we agreed we'd drop that!"

"I'm kidding," Hibiki said, breaking out into a smile.

I released a sigh.

"Maybe," he added.

Elevating my shoulders, I sent him a scowl. He continued to chuckle as he mussed my hair without permission.

"I'm fine being your best friend," he said. "At least, if that means moments like these can keep happening."

I tilted my head to the side and Hibiki grinned.

"That reminds me," he said out of nowhere, "I was staring at this poster earlier at the inn's lobby. They're holding a haunted house later today, free of charge."

"And you're telling me you actually want to go?" I asked.

He shrugged. "If you're up to coming with me."

I hummed. "A test of courage does sound like the perfect way to end a night."

Hibiki chuckled, wriggling a suggestive brow. "I'll let you hold onto me if you get scared."

"Unless you're the one crying like a baby."

Hibiki smirked at my challenge. "It's on. First one to scream or latch on to the other—"

"Owes the other a treat. Anything stands," I finished. I extended out my hand to which he easily returned our old handshake from when we were little. "You remember it," I murmured.

As he retreated his hand, Hibiki dramatically bowed his head. "This entire connection, my dearest Miyuki, is exactly why we're perfect for each other."

I smiled in return, mainly because deep down, I could wholeheartedly agree.