Chapter 5
"Hatori-san looks really close to Sayuri-Chan, huh?" I hear a hushed voice whisper as I grunt, my eyelids too heavy to open.
"It's warm..." I mumble, snuggling closer to whatever I was sleeping next to, hearing a soft giggle.
"Uh...Sayuri?" A louder voice questions, and my eyes slowly open to meet Soma's questionable ones.
"What's wrong?" I blink the sleep out of my eyes as I slowly bear my surroundings.
HOLD ON...Why is there an arm around me...?
I slowly look up to see that I'm cuddled into Hatori's side, his arm wrapped loosely around me, and his chin resting on top of my head.
WHAT.
I feel the blood rush to my cheeks as they begin to burn, and I gently poke his cheek. "Uh...Hatori?"
"Mm." He mumbles, not opening his eyes. "Tired."
"Hatori!" I exclaim, my cheeks burning even hotter. His eyes snap open.
"Huh? What did I miss? Who died? What did you do?" He points an accusing finger at Yoshino, who gains an irk mark before an evil smirk crosses her face.
"I see you and Sayuri-Chan were VERY comfortable, huh?"
"What are you talking about, Baka?" He asks in a bored manner, and I nudge his arm with a sweatdrop as if to say 'seriously?'
"...ah." He says, releasing his loose grip on me. "What time is it?" He yawns and rubs his eye.
"Late." Soma responds as I slip out from under Hatori's arm, his eyes narrowing slightly when I walk over to him. "You could've just pushed him off, you know..."
"I thought you were next to me, but no, you somehow migrated from there to here." I mumble sassily, running my eyes as a hand reaches up to let my bun loose, my blonde hair falling out of the bun into strands down my back. I run a hand through it.
"So what you're saying is, if it were Soma in that spot, you'd be all cuddled up next to him?" Ryoko questions with a smirk, and my face begins to burn again.
I pout out my lips. "I never said that. What happened here anyway?"
"Soma and Isshiki-senpai decided to have a cooking match." Ibusaki explains quietly, draping a sheet around my shoulders as I smile in thanks at him.
"It's getting late. You should go to bed." Isshiki smiles warmly at me, and I pull the sheet around my body and offer a smile back.
"Thanks for the party, guys." I yawn as I exit, Soma walking beside me with an unreadable look in his eyes.
"Tired?" I question, rubbing one of my eyes as he shrugs.
"Not really." He mumbles, and I raise an eyebrow in question before he glances at me and sighs.
"Don't worry about me. Go to sleep." He says, smiling slightly, his slightly taller frame leaning over me as he places a hand on the top of my hair and ruffles it.
I blush. His hand...is really warm. I think as he ruffles it. I clear my throat and playfully glare at him. "Are you trying to say something about my height?!"
He blinks, as if it wasn't that, but smirks nonetheless. "And if I was? I'm gonna head back for a bit, go to bed."
"You irk me." I mumble as he chuckles and takes his hand off my head. The place where he released his hand still remained hot, and I turn around to walk faster.
"G-goodnight!" I exclaim, keeping my head down.
He tilts his head when I glance back, and he just smiles while lifting a hand in the air.
I shut my door quickly, and lean against it. Slowly sliding my back down until I hit the floor. I bring my knees to my chest and rest my head on them, a pounding noise in my ears.
I clench the clothed part where my heart's supposed to be. What...? I thought I would never...
--
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I notice is the bright sunlight streaming through my window. I groan.
Don't get me wrong, sunlight isn't horrible, but can it NOT try to sear through my eyelids this early?
I groan slightly, looking over at the picture I had set up the night before with a smile. "Good morning mom."
I dig around my suitcase until I pull out my brother's sweatshirt. I change out of my bed shirt and slip it over my head. I pull a pair of shorts on before braiding my hair into one long one that rests on my shoulder before making my way out of my room. I'm met with Hatori, who glances up as I open my door.
Yay.
"Good morning." I yawn, walking beside him as he scratches the back of his neck, his eyes looking tired.
"Have a nice sleep, princess? You're actually being nice to me."
"Can it." I mumble. "I must be too tired deal with you and your man period ways."
We greet the others at the entrance of the dining hall and enter to see Soma sitting with his legs crossed and a triumphant smile on his face as if he didn't care it was this early in the morning.
"How long have you been up?" I question, walking over to him as his gaze locks onto Isshiki-senpai.
"I had to table this yesterday, but let's put Totsuki's seventh seat on the line!" Soma exclaims. "It's time for a cook off, Isshiki-Senpai!"
A silence settles around the room as Hatori nudges me along as we all go to take a seat.
I watch with mild interest as Isshiki and him stare at each other for a long while before the complains of hunger drift around the room, and Soma blinks in confusion as Isshiki apologizes, sighing lightly.
"Sorry, Soma-Kun, I must've not explained enough." He sighs as I resist the urge to giggle at my best friend's reaction. Soma pouts and takes the open seat next to me and leans his head against my shoulder, surprising me slightly, but I don't tell him to move.
He launches into an explanation about the rules as breakfast is served, and Soma sits up entirely as I eat quietly while only paying half attention to what was being talked about before someone nudges me in the shoulder.
I glance up at Megumi and Yoshino who look like they're sharing a giggle.
"What?" I question as Yoshino leans closer.
"So, which one of them do you like, Sayuri-chan?" She asks with a small secretive smile as I tilt my head slightly, still confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." I trail off as she blinks in surprise.
"Let Sayuri-chan figure it out." Megumi giggles as she lifts another piece of food to her lips.
"Warning you now, that might take awhile." I say with a light laugh, and Yoshino pouts, leaning back slightly before a smirk takes over her features.
"This could get interesting. Wanna make a bet, Megumi-chan?"
For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.
--
The day before went quicker than I expected, and soon enough, Isshiki's voice was speaking out of the metal pipe thingy in my room the next morning.
"Sayuri-chan~" His voice sounds as my eyes immediately snap open, a shiver running down my spine. "Can you come help me with something?"
I was never going to get used to this. I think with a sigh as I part myself from my warm bedsheets.
"Sure, Isshiki-Senpai." My voice cracks slightly as I glance out to see it was still dark out, and I palm my forehead, closing my eyes as I resist the urge to go back to sleep.
--
"Why is he wearing a loincloth?" I whisper to Hatori as I shield the sun, that magically appeared about half an hour later, from my eyes. We had somehow ended up facing each other at the same time again, and was currently working in the same area of the gardens.
"I've learned not to question it." He mumbles in reply as he watches as I pull my hair back. "Are you sure the little princess in you wants to get her hands dirty?"
"Your taunts are getting old." I deadpan as he chuckles, surprising me slightly. I bite into a tomato as I lean against the fence, the wind brushing my loose strands of hair out of my face.
"I guess you're right." His dark green eyes seem a little glinted as his eyes scan over all of the dorm members that were helping out in the garden. He seemed content.
I quirk an eyebrow to see my best friend laughing and enjoying himself with the rest of the girls in the dormitory. I shrug off whatever had settled on my shoulders at the thought and get caught off guard when Hatori suddenly steals a bite of my tomato, catching me off guard as he leans back from my hand, chewing on the red fruit.
"You seem dazed. Is everything okay? Not that I care, of course." I see the worry glint in his eyes and realize he's hinting at what had happened at our first meeting.
I resist the urge to face palm. Men and their pride.
I shrug. "I'm fine...I was just thinking. Thanks for pretending to care." I say with a light chuckle.
"What were you thinking about? About how crazy amazing I am?" He smirks as I roll my eyes.
"Totally." He grins lightly and I'm caught off guard yet again. I hold his gaze for a moment.
"Stop smiling. It's scaring me." I say, suppressing a wide smile before walking off with a basket tucked under my arm, and he follows with a newly placed irk mark.
--
"Those two do have a sexual tension going on." Ryoko sweat drops, turning the attention of pretty much everyone to the two.
She had stolen his hat and was running off with it as Hatori chased her with clear annoyance in his eyes, but no one could miss the small smile that was set on his lips as he caught her by the waist, Sayuri yelping slightly as she breaks out into laughter.
The redhead nearby can't stop the small frown that set on his mouth as he watches her beautiful smile that graced her lips, and he can't help but blink in confusion.
'Why am I so...bitter?'
Sorry for the wait! :( I've been working on my other book, and I forgot to finish this chapter! Vote for who you want her to end up with!