TAKOYAKI OVERLOAD

Interesting is an understatement. Being interested with someone means that they arouse your interest but kin-chan was already beyond that. Kin-chan is impossible.

Chika could still not understand how she got separated from Yagyuu and Niou and now she was facing yet another dilemma.

Why is this happening? Did I do something wrong? What's with the streak of bad luck? Ikkaku-sama, why can't you lend me some of that luck you have? Should I just start dancing the lucky-lucky dance?

Chika winced as the store owner yelled at them.

"What are you gonna do about this huh? Do you know how expensive this is?"

…

A few moments earlier…

Shiraishi glanced at his watch then to kin-chan who was still eating takoyaki. He then glanced over to Chika, who was silently observing the red head suck all those food in.

"Kintaro, you can continue eating later. Why don't we help Mimami-san go back to her friends first then come back here afterwards" Shiraishi suggested, realizing that they should have done that when they saw her since Chika didn't eat anyway.

Chika wanted to object, feeling like she'd be imposing on them. But then, the look on Shiraishi's face said that he really wanted to go too. So instead, Chika didn't say anything.

"Let's go eat ramen next" Kintaro said, gulping the last of his takoyaki

This is when it all started. The bill arrived and Chika could swear Shiraishi's eyes almost jumped off their sockets. He choked on nothing, his face went pale and his sweat became cold.

"I-I think there's a mistake, our bill can't possibly be this-"

"Do you see other customers? That's your bill" the owner said with a sneer in his face

Chika felt helpless. If she had her wallet, she could at least contribute. If she had her phone, she could have called Yagyuu to bring her money. But then again, if she actually had those, they wouldn't have been there in the first place.

She didn't know what to say so she just remained silent.

Kintaro did the same at first but for different reasons. Shiraishi had always proven to be able to get out of situations by simply talking to people. And so, Kintaro just watched and let Shiraishi reason to the store owner.

"It's your damn fault you didn't look at the prices before you ate" the owner huffed, folding his arms and looking down on Shiraishi.

The boy sighed and surrendered. He took his wallet and counted what was inside and sighed again. Chika took this as a sign that it wasn't enough. Kintaro reached in his pocket as well and only managed to take out a few coins that obviously didn't help much.

Chika felt really horrible. If she only had her wallet.

While it was true that she didn't really eat and all she had was water which was free, it still made her feel bad that she can't help Shiraishi and Kintaro.

"Okay, what if we just write a note or something then come back when we have the money" Shiraishi

The owner frowned and removed his arms form being folded. It seemed that he was about to punch Shiraishi but instead, he shoved the boy.

"Are you trying to make a fool out of me? Leave a note huh? Then what? You won't come back again? I wasn't born yesterday you punk"

That's when the worse happened. Kintaro seems to have suddenly been frozen when he saw Shiraishi's hit a pole. The older boy winced but it didn't look serious. What shocked Chika more was Kintaro's reaction.

He roared out loud and grabbed the first thing he could get a hold of – which in that case was the table – and threw it at the owner.

"If you hit Shiraishi, I'll hit you back!" Kintaro shouted with rage

Luckily, the owner managed to dodge the attack. Unfortunately, the table hit something else. It went crashing towards the kitchen and hit the one of the four takoyaki machines.

Kintaro was about to throw another table when Shiraishi rushed forward to stop him.

"Kintaro! Stop! I wasn't hurt, stop" Shiraishi tried to appease the raging boy

Kintaro panted, not from exhaustion but from his anger subsiding. Chika's jaws were already on the floor, unable to believe that someone so small can do so much damage. She looked back to the owner whose eyes were as wide as Shiraishi's when he saw the bill. He was looking over to the takoyaki machine that was now on the ground, under the wrecked table. There was a spark and the machine was clearly broken beyond repair. He glared at the two boys and bellowed in rage…

…

And now we go back to the present time…

Chika was still frozen stiff as the owner shouted at them as if his throat was made of steel. Their original bill has now multiplied to something they definitely cannot pay. Even if Chika had her money, she doubted it would be any help. She would have to work that money for months and starve at the same time.

"Alright, that's it, I'll just call the cops" the owner said causing the three to look even more alarmed.

"Wait!" Chika said, finally speaking up. "What if we just pay you with something else?"

Although she said that, she clearly has no idea what else they can pay the damage with

"Oh? With what?"

Chika scanned the empty store for inspiration and just as she was about to give up, she had an idea.

"What if we work for it? Earn enough money to pay for what we owe"

Again, she did not know how to do that. She has worked at a café for almost two years now and if she learned something, it's about ambiance. And this store definitely has none of that, none of the good stuff anyway.

Shiraishi looked at Chika as if doubting her suggestion as well. Chika sighed and looked down. She realized she was making things worse. But then again, she really didn't want the cops involved.

Shiraishi placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded as if agreeing now. There was still doubt but at the same time assurance it will work. There was also a hint of appreciation to what she was doing.

"How are you planning to do that?" the owner asked sceptically "I've tried everything. I changed the recipe, put on discounts, gave out flyers… nothing works"

"I saw this one restaurant; they have these girls wearing maid costumes. Maybe we can do that" Kintaro asked innocently

"That's for a maid café…" Shiraishi sighed

By this, everyone looked at Chika, the only female present. They all seemed to be considering this suggestion.

Are you serious?

Chika looked panicked now. There was no way in hell she'll wear a maid costume. No way in hell! She would much rather prefer the owner to call the police than this.

Lucky of her, Shiraishi sensed Chika's discomfort and absolute dislike towards the idea.

"She doesn't have to do that, we can do something else, like a show or something" Shiraishi offered "Then we can sell the takoyaki while they're watching"

"What kind of show?" the owner said, still not sure if he should trust these students who just wrecked his takoyaki machine

They went silent for a while, thinking what kind of publicity stunt they should do to reel in customers.

Somehow, Chika's thought about Ikkaku's lucky-lucky dance was stuck in her head. As if it was hinting something to her.

Well I can't dance and there's no way I'd do that lucky-lucky dance in public… in fact, I don't even think I can do it since I have two left feet… of course I can just… no I can't do that. There's no way I can do that

Chika glanced up at Shiraishi who seemed to be at a loss of what to do. Chika then imagined the owner calling for the cops. She suddenly felt horrible. There was no way she could just keep quiet and not help when she knew there was definitely something she can do. Before Chika can stop herself, the words came out of her mouth.

"I can sing"

She wasn't bragging. Her voice was way too soft that none of the people who heard thought she was. Her face was red and was visibly embarrassed.

The owner smirked "Good, then you two cook takoyaki and make sure not to break anything else and you, girl, sing to attract customers"

…

A few minutes later…

I can't do this, I can't do this! What was I thinking? There's no way I can do this!

"You really don't have to force yourself Minami-san" Shiraishi said, looking both apologetic and comforting

"No, it's okay, I can do this. You helped me when I was lost so I want to repay you. Besides, it's not like I can cook takoyaki"

What are you saying? Just tell him you don't want to do this! Tell him you change your mind! Tell him your throat suddenly hurt or you have a tummy ache!

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shiraishi asked, sensing hesitation in Chika's face

"Yeah" Chika said in a very unconvincing way

You're a moron! A big moron! Just run for it!

Chika was then about to admit she didn't want to proceed but the look of concern in Shiraishi's face made her think otherwise. Shiraishi was concerned about her and she was thinking of running away. Shiraishi helped her when she was scared and lost. She can't repay his kindness by leaving him like that. She had to help him.

"Are you absolutely sure, you can still back out. We can think of another way to-"

"No, it's fine. I can do it" Chika said as if convincing herself this time but with a bit more conviction "Come on, help me here. Convince me that I can do this"

Shiraishi surrendered with a smile and nodded "You can do this"

Chika nodded "Okay… I can do this"

When Shiraishi helped her up the platform, she was suddenly reminded how stupid this was and just how many people were looking at her.

"On second thought, I can't do this"

"You can do this" Shiraishi chuckled, holding Chika's hand and squeezing it gently "Trust me, you can do this"

"You don't even know if I can really sing"

Shiraishi laughed this time "You're the one who said you can."

"And you believed me?" Chika exclaimed

"Of course I do, you don't seem like someone who lies and the way you said it seems convincing" Shiraishi gave her a little push "Now, just calm down and don't think of anything else, just sing"

Chika just nodded and walked towards the microphone, breathing deeply to calm herself

I can do this… no I can't. What if they hate my voice? What if they laugh at me? What if I sound so horrible, they'd all throw tomatoes at me? Wait, where are they gonna get the tomatoes? Is this the time to be thinking that? Focus! Wait, what if I faint? What if I suddenly forgot the lyrics? Oh no, I think I actually forgot the lyrics!

Chika was shaking now and Shiraishi was contemplating whether to save her and take her off the platform or just let her be.

Chika closed her eyes and to her surprise, she saw Niou's face. He started talking to her inside her head.

"I told you, stop thinking and just do it"

What are you, a slogan for Nike®? I can't just do it! I can't stop thinking, I'm really scared. What if they hate me? What if I throw up? I don't like crowds, I don't like attention. Oh no, I think I'm going to get sick.

"If you wanna be a singer, you better get used to singing for large crowds. You can do it. Come on! Sing!"

Chika opened her mouth and a pathetic sound came out of her throat.

"A beautiful love song never changing

Please keep singing it to me"

Her eyes remained closed but mustering all the courage she can get, she opened her eyes. As soon as her vision was back, she regretted her decision. She felt something come up her throat but continued singing anyway.

"Until my heart stops beating, until the end of time"

Just when she was about to run off stage, she saw a very familiar glint of silver hair among the crowd. She stopped singing and just stared at the person who just arrived. When she realized who it was, she felt the greatest wave of relief. She could swear she heard a chorus of angels singing in the background.

Masaharu…

Niou smiled and mouthed "You can do it"

Chika smiled back and nodded. She faced the crowd with more confidence and took a deep breath before continuing where she left off

"Oh beautiful person, please hold me forever"

Niou then gave her two thumbs up with an expression that encouraged her

Chika's smile widened and suddenly, she felt as if the crowd disappeared. Now, all she can see is Niou, grinning widely at her.

"You're always telling me that you love me using such difficult words

Initially there was a question mark over my head because your words were too philosophical

But then we talked and now I understand you better"

Now, Chika felt invincible. All the worry and fear she had earlier seem to have disappeared. Somehow, just seeing Niou there gave her a sense of security. Like no one can touch her.

"With many steadying deep breaths, you gave me a colorful love message

And don't worry because I believe what you're saying"

The crowd started cheering loudly and the takoyaki were suddenly selling like crazy. But Chika didn't notice any of that. Her eyes were focused on only one person in the crowd. And at that moment, he was the only one that mattered.

"A beautiful love song never changing

Please keep singing it to me

Until my heart stops beating, until the end of time

Oh beautiful person, please hold me forever"

Chika felt so light headed as if she was high on something. She hardly knew what she was doing. The euphoria was way too much for her to even care.

"This small heart of mine is filled with thoughts of you

And don't worry because I believe what you're saying

I completely trust you

A love song that repeats endlessly, sung by the voice that I love, please always bring me the melody

When I turn to look back over there, I want you to always be there

Oh beautiful person, always be by my side"

Author's rant:

Another reference to another anime. Well I guess everyone knows bleach. If you haven't actually seen it then you probably don't know who Ikkaku is. Ikkaku is a shinigami; he belongs to the eleventh squad lead by Kenpachi Zaraki. Ikkaku is the third seat and he's bald (Ikkaku: I'm not bald!) yes he is, his head is so shiny it can pass as a moon when he lies on the roof at night. In his first appearance, he did that lucky-lucky dance (search for it in YouTube, it's hilarious) and he's considered the luckiest man in the eleventh squad.

As for the song, it's uruwashiki hito by ikimono gakari. I placed the translated lyrics because… I dunno, it felt better for the chapter. Uruwashiki hito means beautiful person, by the way.

Oh, what was that? Shiraishi is on the lead? Yes he is, Shiraishi is indeed on the lead! But wait! Niou is behind him, he steals the ball, he shoots and he scores! The crowd goes wild!

Oh, ignore that… hahaha. Anyway, that kind of took longer to post than I expected. Sorry about that. I'm not making promises for the next chapter but it's gonna be good since the two are reunited again *insert spongebob troll face here*

Junnin: oh no, he's not just a distraction *evil laugh* he's going to be a real headache for Niou even when he doesn't actually appear *even more evil laughs* laugh with me evil takoyaki seller! Mwahahahahahaha.

Chillybean: yeah ^o^ I love triangles but it's not with the person you're thinking

Kawaii-witch181: yeah! I influenced you to fall for the Rikkai hotties mwahahahaha. Basically Niou's dream was just his subconscious trying to shake him into realizing something very important about a special someone. And as for Shiraishi, haha, she won't exactly fall for him. But if you don't want her to like-like Shiraishi, it's too late for that. She already likes him XD. But Shiraishi is an important person in this story too. He'll also be playing an important role in the story and besides, he doesn't like Chika like that (because he likes me… hahaha, what? I can dream can't I?)