Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 2005 © Fujiwara Hiro

Lala Magazine under Hakusensha Publishing

Save The Date

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The first time I've met him was in the middle of an insane morning rush in Shinjuku train station. There was nothing extraordinary that day. Okay, maybe except for the fact that an ungodly force decided to pick on me.

I just got off from the train when a-good-for-nothing multicellular organism bumped on me (and without even looking my way to apologize, damn it). I tripped and all I could do was to curse mentally as I braced for the impact.

But all I felt was a pair of strong arms snaking around my waist and a frantic voice whispering, "Whoa!"

I fell on something -or more like someone- that was soft and warm.

I looked up and I was staring right into the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen in my life. Our faces were so close I could see his pupils widening and my own surprised reflection on his glassy eyes. I could smell the sweet, musky fragrance coming off him, and if I moved an inch closer, I could kiss him. Not that I had the intention to kiss him, I'm just picturing out our lovely position in a public place.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked concernedly, pulling me out of trance.

I blushed. "Oh, sorry! I-I'm fine, thank you," I stepped back and bowed my head shyly.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes," my voice shook a little as I looked back at him again. His hair was a heap of messy blonde locks. He got a perfect nose, a kisser's lips, and those emerald eyes. He was gorgeous. So freaking gorgeous he should be classified as illegal entity.

The guy smiled, momentarily blinding me, and patted my head like I was a kid. "Be careful," he said.

And then he turned away and was lost in the sea of people.

I stood there for another moment, collecting myself. Then I sighed, amusedly thinking, my two-minute fling is done.

I went on with my life as he did. I was pretty sure I would never see him again. After all, it was just a simple happenstance.

Boy was I wrong.

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Exactly one week after that incident in the train station (not that I'm counting), I was strolling alone downtown and happened to pass by this coffee shop. As a coffee enthusiast, the overpowering smell of roasting coffee beans was just so irresistible I gave in to temptation.

I ordered and dined in. The shop was nearly full and every seat was occupied, but I was lucky to find an empty seat by the glass window.

I sat there, sipping my frappe and minding my own business when a velvety voice suddenly spoke out.

"Excuse me, would you mind sharing your table? Everywhere else's full."

I looked up to see who it was, and I nearly inhaled my drink. Remarkable emerald eyes. Messy blonde hair. Freakishly gorgeous. My eyes widened, it was him. The guy in Shinjuku station.

"Oh," was the small syllable that escaped from his mouth as he recognized me, too.

I flushed at the intensity of his gaze, like he was Xerox-copying every plane of my face in his mind.

"U-um," damn it, tongue! Don't fuck up now! "hey, uh... sure, have a seat," I said as casually as possible, ignoring the unreasonable pounding of my heart.

He smiled, and I was blinded again. "Thanks." He sat down opposite from me. He had a glass of delicately-prepared parfait and a slice of strawberry shortcake.

We didn't spoke to each other that much, just a simple customary comments like 'the weather's nice today' and a few questions like 'do you come here often?'. It was kind of awkward. Well, on my part. He seemed to be so relaxed and carefree conversing with me, who's a total stranger to him.

"Well, I think we're even now," he said when he finished his glass.

I frowned. "Huh?"

"I saved you from falling face-first in the station last week and you let me sit here with you today, so we're even now. No more debt on the ledger," he grinned.

"Ah," I got it now, "yeah... thanks for saving my face, by the way," I said.

He stood up, readying to leave. He flashed me another breathtaking smile and took his bag, "You know..."

"Yeah?"

"I don't believe in this so-called fate and destiny. I'm pretty sure our meeting is purely coincidental," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't believe in fate and destiny, too. And yes, our meeting is nothing more than a coincident," I assured him.

"But if we happened to meet again, I might be convinced that there is such thing as fate and destiny," he said with a smirk. "If we ever met again, tell me your name."

I blinked and raised my eyebrow. Then I chuckled amusedly. "Well, okay. Promise me you'll tell yours, too."

"I promise. So, it's a deal?" he held out his pinky.

"If we met again, no stalking included," I said firmly and I curled my little finger around his, sealing our promise childishly.

"Bye, stranger," he winked and left the shop.

I stayed there for a few more minutes while thinking about the weird promise I just made with a complete stranger. Part of me was excited but a bigger part of me-probably the most logical part of my brain- knew there's zero to ten percent chances that we'll ever meet again.

Unless fate and destiny decided to show up.

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Time passed by. The season began to change from summer to autumn. Just as I was beginning to think that we were never really meant to meet again, things started to stir up.

This time, it was in a bookstore. I have this habit of wandering in areas I'm not familiar with. It was way around my usual route and I was tired, I've been walking for the past two hours, so I thought I'd take a rest there since the bookstore had a reading corner and a coffee shop.

I hung my overcoat by the entrance and casually browsed the towering shelves. As I round the next aisle, I bumped into someone. Books fell on the floor with muted thuds. I immediately scooped them up, muttering apologies and handing it over to whoever I bumped into... who turned out to be the guy.

We both suffered a temporary shock when our eyes met. But he recovered much faster than me as he broke into a boyish grin.

"Hey," he greeted enthusiastically.

"You..." was all I could whisper; my eyes were as big as saucers.

"This must be what they call fate and destiny, huh?"

"Fate and destiny," I scoffed. I narrowed my eyes on him suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not stalking me?"

He laughed amusedly. "How can I be sure that you're not stalking me either?"

"I am not!" I huffed angrily. We stood and I glared daggers at him, contemplating on how to rip this bastard's throat off.

"I am not, too, so case closed," he said coolly. "And even if I wanted to, I don't know how to find you. I don't even know your name... which gets me down to our little pinky promise." He had that teasing smirk on his annoyingly handsome face as he turned around and coaxed me to follow him.

I blushed and my feet followed him on its own accord. We went to the reading corner for kids. We took off our shoes and sat on the soft, cushioned floor. I noticed through the glass window that it had started to rain. The sky was an angry shade of gray as lightning and thunder shook the heavens.

"That is not good," I muttered.

"What is?" my newly-found companion asked. He already had one of his books open on the low table.

"It's raining," I scowled.

"So?"

"I don't have an umbrella."

"I can share mine."

"Oh, that's really- wait, what?" I whipped my head towards him and blinked.

"But you have to tell me your name first," he said. He rested his cheek on his palm, looking like he was enjoying this. Well, most probably. "I wouldn't want to share my umbrella with some stranger, would I? Besides, we have a deal." He held out his pinky and smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I sighed, waving my hand exasperatedly. "I'm Misaki. Ayuzawa Misaki."

He tilted his head and repeated my name. "Misaki? What pretty name," he mused.

"Thanks. So what's yours?"

"I'm Usui Takumi, nice to meet you again, Misa-chan," he grinned like a maniac.

And so, our promise was fulfilled.

We talked about what all newly acquainted people talk about. I learned that he was a student from a private school in the next town. Like me, he had a weird habit of wandering around. He was half-English, half-Japanese, which explained his unusual bright green eyes and blonde hair. From our conversation, I could tell that he was a cheerful, less-than-eccentric person. But he could be serious, too, and was a very intelligent being. Oh and, he was a perverted alien.

Hours passed and the rain wasn't stopping. The dim sunlight was beginning to fade and I needed to go home.

As we stood by the entrance, shrugging into our coats, Takumi insisted on walking me back to the station even though his way was on the opposite direction. The black umbrella he conjured from his bag was small, so I had to stay extremely close to him. It was difficult move without bumping into each other and getting either of us sprayed by the rain. After a few more bumps, he sighed, yanking me and linking our arms together. I blushed deeply; as if sharing an umbrella wasn't embarrassing enough*. I didn't pull away, though. I just kept my mouth tightly shut.

When we arrived at the station, I slipped my arm off his and bowed awkwardly.

"Thank you, Takumi. Sorry for dragging you here," I mumbled.

"Nah, it's nothing. How can I let a pretty girl like you get drenched in the rain?" he smirked.

I grimaced at his teasing remarks. "Well, I better go. Take care on your way home."

I was about to turn towards the platform when he caught my wrist. I confusedly looked back at him.

But Takumi just stood there, gripping my wrist gently and staring like he wanted to swallow me. Then, a soft smile lightened up his face. "Do you know the saying, 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Thrice is enemy action'?"

"Uh... yeah, I'm quite aware of that. For example," I gestured in the steady downpour of the rain, "enemy action," I pointed out, chuckling quietly. "So, what about it?"

"Do you know that there's a fourth one?"

"Really? I didn't know," I mused. "What's the fourth one?"

Takumi smiled alluringly and leaned closer to me, "On the fourth time... we will go on a date."

Before my brain could process what he said, he patted my head the same way he did when we first met, smiled and walked away, leaving me pondering about what he said.

Date? Eh?!

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I'm not really the type of person to believe in fate and destiny. The whole concept of it just sounds so ridiculous and cheesy. I mean, everything happens for a reason, like, when the apple fell on Newton's head. It was not because of fate and destiny. No, sir. It was because of gravity. Same goes for love. People fall in love because it's what they choose and what their hearts are telling them, not because some make-believe is playing tricks on them.

But for the past few weeks, I highly doubt my own opinion on that matter. Especially now as I engaged a staring battle against the familiar emerald eyes of the guy I literally fell on to.

We were standing right across from each other, a wide road separating us as we waited along with a hundred others for the traffic lights to turn red.

I could see the bewildered look on his face even from a few meters away, like he could hardly believe his eyes. Likewise, my face should've mirrored his.

It was just so freaking weird. We didn't exactly establish a concrete communication with each other, just an illusionary deal he'd set up. Our schools were towns apart and I was sure he didn't know where I live, let alone where I am at a particular time...

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Thrice is enemy action.

And if we ever met again for the fourth time, he would be convinced that fate and destiny exist and that they are conspiring to make our lives tangled together.

The lights turned red; pedestrians began walking from both side of the road. I followed them robotically; my eyes still locked on his.

In the middle of the road, at the exact point where we brushed by each other, he suddenly grabbed my forearm and practically dragged me with him. Can you believe it? He just dragged me like a rag doll right in front of hundred other people, and forced me to walk backwards like an idiot.

I frantically flailed around, trying to find my balance. "H-hey, wait! Takumi, what the hell are you-"

"We're dating," he simply said.

"What?!" my voice jumped an octave higher.

"I said we're dating."

We'd reached the side of the road where I came from. Takumi steadied me on my feet and smiled... the kind of smile that could melt the stoniest heart. He gazed into my eyes like he was searching my soul. I turned beet red and couldn't find my voice. I instantly forgot to yell at him for dragging me across the road.

Takumi held out his hand, still smiling brightly. "Will you go out with me, Misaki?" he asked formally, but I could hear a little tone of teasing behind it.

I laughed and shook my head amusedly. "Seriously, Usui Takumi..."

"What? Fate and destiny are obviously bringing us together; we should comply with it. Don't let their hard works go to waste."

I laughed again as I finally took his hand. It was warm and soft and back then, I didn't know why but it just felt so right.

"So, what do people usually do on a date?" I asked.

"Eat?" he answered uncertainly.

"That's lame."

"Well, I'm sorry for being an amateur. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've ever ask a girl on a date."

"Eh? Really? Doesn't seem like it."

"What, do you perceive me as the playboy type?"

"Actually, yes."

"That's so mean, Misa-chan..."

Our conversation drawled on as we walked casually, playfully throwing our intertwined hands back and forth like little kids.

Meeting this guy wasn't just a happenstance, a coincidence nor an enemy action, it was something of much greater power. I'm not really the type of person to believe in fate and destiny, but I guess... I'm on my way to believing.

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08/31/13 0212H

OWARI

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SORA'S RAMBLING CORNER:

*In Japan, sharing of umbrella between a girl and a boy indicates a romantic relationship.

I hope you like this one-shot story from yours truly. Thank you for reading until here!

Itte kuru ne~