A/N: Ano Natsu was such a cute anime! I was hoping for a better ending between Mio and Tetsuro though (you know, like actually dating and holding hands), so I guess I wrote this to satisfy myself.
I hope you enjoy!
A Helping Hand
One shot
000
Tetsuro heaved out a heavy yawn as he walked along the sidewalk. His bag was slung over his shoulder, since he had just departed from school. He had a baby pink notebook in hand, labeled 'Mio' in delicate print.
Lately, Mio had been missing multiple days of school, which was extremely unusual for her. Kanna had commanded him to go to her house to give her her notebook, since she had already missed three consecutive days of school.
He had an inkling it had to do with her nudist issue. He pretended not to know about her secret in front of the others, but in all honesty, he was concerned. He had always wondered why the girl constantly held her skirt down, and why she hardly ever wore short skirts, besides her high school uniform of course. Obviously, the truth came as a surprise to him. But instead of merely dismissing the issue, he wanted to help her in some way.
They were already in their second year, and Tetsuro was still the only person who knew Mio's secret, although he had a feeling Kanna might have known about it. But with filming yet another movie, and with tests and finals, there was hardly ever any time to talk with Mio privately. Whenever he tried, he would always be interrupted.
Ever since Ichika had come back from space, things just seemed to become more and more lively…
Finally, he arrived in front of her house. With a small nod to himself, Tetsoru lifted up a loose fist and knocked on the door. It took a few seconds before he heard familiar light footfalls coming towards the door.
The moment he heard the swift click of the lock, he opened his mouth to begin his greeting, but quickly yelled and fell backwards at the sight he saw.
In front of him, was a puzzled and naked Mio, apparently unaware of her current appearance. Tetsoru clamped a hand over his nose in an attempt to stop the free flow of blood gushing out.
"M-M-M-Mio…?" He shouted, wide eyed. The girl tilted her head to the side and finally looked down before blushing furiously. "A-a-a-ano…!"
He stood up frantically. "The door! Close the door!" He said loudly, looking around to see if anyone had spotted the naked girl. He gently pushed her back inside the house before slamming the door shut. He leaned against the door, breathing heavily and wiping off his bloody nose.
"I'm s-s-sor—
"It's fine! Just…fine," Tetsoru sighed, trying to shake off the blush he knew was on his cheeks. He spotted a blanket on one of the couches, and hastily tossed it towards her.
"Put that on," he said. She nodded, looking extremely flustered and embarrassed.
"Everyone's…been worried about you. You told Kanna that you're sick…but…you look fine," he started, scratching the back of his head. Her eyes were cast downward as she spoke to him.
"That…is…um…" she trailed off uncomfortably. He frowned.
"Did something happen at school? You…forgot again, didn't you?" He asked, carefully observing her facial expression. She nodded slowly.
"I forgot to put spare underwear in my bag too…a breeze blew my skirt up…and a few girls saw and they…laughed," Mio admitted shyly.
"Thank goodness they weren't guys," he pointed out. She nodded again, this time, not saying anything. He took a seat on the couch, and she meekly followed suit.
"You can go back to school. You don't have to be afraid," Tetsoru told her firmly. She frowned deeply.
"I won't know what to do…" She replied. He stared at her before crossing his arms.
"I'll help you fix your habit," he said. She gasped as she turned to face him. He grinned at her.
"I'm not lying. It might take a while, but…I'll definitely help you out," he declared, determined. When he saw tears beginning to well up in her eyes, he quickly patted her back.
"You're…really nice, Tetsoru-kun," Mio said, sniffling. He laughed lightly.
"We'll just have to give you a drive. Or…a punishment," Tetsuro considered, causing her to blink in surprise. "E-eh…?"
"Alright! That's what we'll do. Hmm…every time you forget…I'll do this," he started, reaching over towards her face. She made a face as he flicked her forehead. She held onto the spot he had hit, pouting towards him.
"That hurt…" She told him. He smiled. "And it's supposed to. It'll help you get rid of your habit. I promise," he reassured her. Mio smiled softly at him before nodding. A small tinge of pink spread out on his face again, and he hastily turned his head in the opposite direction.
"Oh! Here's your notebook. Kanna made me bring it here," the blue-haired teen informed, handing her the pink notebook.
"Thank you. For lots of things," she answered back, beaming at him gratefully. He stood up abruptly, awkwardly rubbing the strap of his bag.
"Yeah. No problem. Don't forget, okay?" He told her, heading towards the door.
"I'll do my best. Bye, Tetsuro-kun," the pink-haired girl told him as he quietly closed the front door. She placed the notebook down on the coffee table and spent the next ten minutes mindlessly patting her forehead.
000
The moment Ichika had come back, the group had proposed to make yet another movie. Of course, it was a unanimous decision, and they were all excited to make another film. The moment they had decided that, Lemon had returned out of nowhere, ready to film again with them.
"Hm…the view from here isn't good. Let's go up stairs," Lemon told the group, pointing towards the stone steps. Kanna and Tetsuro let out sighs of apparent complaint.
"There are so many stairs though…" The blue-haired girl replied. Lemon flashed a mischievous and all knowing smile towards Mio before silently beginning to ascend up the stairs. Kanna, defeated, grudgingly followed after her. Kaito and Ichika followed behind her while having a small conversation. Mio went up after them, clutching onto the reflector.
Tetsuro gaped before rushing towards the girl.
She had no underwear on.
Without thinking, he reached up and swung his arms around her waist, lifting her up, turning her around, and setting her down on the ground floor. She let out a short yelp, attracting the attention of their other friends.
"Tetsuro? Kitahara-san? What are you guys doing?" Kaito asked curiously. Tetsuro gulped.
"Uh…there was…a bug," he stated lamely. The others looked at him strangely before dismissing the issue and continuing up the stairs.
"Let's go to the bathroom," he sighed, taking her arm.
"I'm sorry…I forgot again…" Mio said nervously. He shrugged.
"It's fine. You have spares, right?" He questioned, looking at the bag slung over her shoulder. She nodded.
"I'll wait outside," Tetsuro told her, sitting down on the bench outside the women's bathroom.
"O-okay," she replied hurriedly, jogging into the bathroom.
He crossed his arms. It had been one week since he had offered to assist her. She came back to school the next day, and strictly avoided the girls who had seen her without her panties on. Thankfully, they weren't in the same class as them. He had been expecting her to mess up some time, but he didn't think it would be this soon.
"I'm done," Mio's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He stood up, taking a few seconds to stretch out his back. He glanced down at her before reaching over and delivering a swift flick to her forehead.
"O-ouch…" She murmured, reaching up to nurse the red mark he had left. He grinned at her.
"I told you what would happen, didn't I?" He teased, walking ahead. She stared at his back as her heart pulled into a tight knot. He walked a few more steps before realizing that she wasn't following him.
"Let's go, Mio? I'm sure Lemon-senpai's tired of waiting," Tetsuro told her, gesturing for her to join him. Mio smiled lightly, nodding as she jogged towards him.
There would be many more days ahead.
000
"T-Tetosuro-kun…? I'm sorry…" Mio apologized for the tenth time as they both headed towards the bathroom of the school. He shrugged, shaking his head.
"It's not a problem. It's a good thing you realized before anyone noticed," Tetoru replied gently. She glanced away from him, not responding.
She often enjoyed the mutual silence they shared. It gave her time to think of things to say. She wondered if he knew that. She also wondered what he thought during those times.
"Tetsuro-kun…" Mio whispered, slowing her walk to a leisurely pace. He turned around, staring at her with a curious look on his features. "What's up?"
"U-um"—
At that moment, a group of first years collided into her, causing her to crash into the wall. Her eyes squeezed shut as her head hit the wall. "O-ouch…" She muttered.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Tetsuro standing in front of the trio of first years, and glaring at them.
"Watch yourselves next time," he said with a clear tone of authority. The first years cowered together, looking a bit frightened. Mio straightened up quickly, brushing off her skirt.
"It's okay! I'm fine!" She squeaked. The first years hastily bowed down to the two of them before jogging down the hall. After a few seconds, Mio let out a soft giggle. Tetsuro turned to her, eyebrow raised. "What's so funny?" He demanded.
"I think you really scared them. You're so tall and mature looking, so I'm sure they mistook you for a third year," she explained to him. At that, a grin spread out across his face.
"Ha. Oh well. I didn't mean to scare them like that. They just pissed me off," he replied. He scratched the back of his head, glancing away. "But…you're not hurt, are you? No bruises?" He asked quietly. Mio smiled before shaking her head.
"I'm fine, really," she told him. He let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad."
The girl blushed lightly. She quickly blinked in surprise though when she realized that they had come here so she could go to the bathroom.
"I-I'll be back!" Mio squeaked before running towards the restroom.
"Ah. Wait, Mio," he said, taking a hold of her arm. She gasped as he spun her around. She faced him, only to be greeted by a sharp pain to the forehead.
"M-mou…" She murmured as she touched her aching forehead. He laughed lightly.
"Okay, I'll wait here," he told her, watching as she shakily walked into the bathroom.
Tetsuro crossed his arms, sighing. His lips set into a straight line, and he waited.
000
Mio shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She brushed back a few locks of hair behind her ear before continuing to fidget uneasily. Lemon cast her a knowing look while Tetsuro looked at her worriedly.
"Is something wrong, Kitahara-san?" Lemon questioned, smiling pleasantly. Mio blushed before hastily shaking her head. "I'm okay."
"Hm…you're not getting sick, are you?" Kanna asked, touching the girl's forehead. Mio blushed even more before moving away from Kanna's hand, who rose an eyebrow in confusion.
"Is something wrong with your forehead? Does it have a bruise?" Kanna continued to interrogate.
"Ah…no…um…" The girl trailed off. Soon, Tetsuro found that he was shifting around in his seat.
"Sorry we took so long!" Ichika announced as she and Kaito placed the trays of fast food in front of them. Mio let out a sigh of relief.
The pink-haired girl began munching on her hamburger, uncomfortably fidgeting all the while. She glanced over at her friends before quickly looking back down at her food. Tetsuro frowned.
"Ah…I'm out of soda already," Tetsuro said, shaking his cup. He reached over and grabbed onto Mio's cup, who looked up at him, startled.
"Hm, it seems like yours is empty too. Let's go refill them, Mio?" Tetsuro asked, already up and walking away from the table.
"B-but, it's not…" Mio began as she caught up with him. Instead of going towards the drink station, he made a turn towards the bathroom, and turned to face her. He set the drinks down on a nearby table.
"You should've said something," he told her, crossing his arms. She frowned. "I'm sorry…"
After a few seconds, Tetsuro tilted his head to the side. "Aren't you going to go change?" He asked curiously. She blushed.
"Um…I forgot to bring extras," the pink-haired girl admitted reluctantly. Tetsuro sighed shortly before rummaging through his backpack, which Mio had not even noticed earlier. To her surprise, he took out a small package of panties, blushing furiously as he handed it to her.
"I-I don't know anything about sizes…but I think it should be okay," he blurted out. She blinked in confusion.
"You…always had these with you?" She questioned, causing his face to burn even more. The blue-haired teen abruptly turned his back on her, rubbing the back of his head.
"I thought it would be good to be prepared. And I said I would help you, right?" He replied. Mio giggled as she gratefully hugged the package of underwear. "Thank you, Tetsuro-kun," she told him before disappearing into the bathroom.
When she came back out, he was leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for her. "Did they fit okay?" He asked her. She nodded, handing him back the package of remaining panties, which he stuffed back into his backpack.
He slowly stepped in front of her before raising his hand towards her forehead.
"Stand still," Tetsuro muttered. Mio squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact of his finger.
However, instead of a painful flick to the forehead, she felt a gentle softness pressing onto her lips. Her eyes snapped open in surprise. Before she could do anything else, he had pulled back. His cheeks were pink from embarrassment.
"You weren't starting to be a masochist, were you?" He asked teasingly. She gulped nervously before hastily shaking her head.
"I was kidding," he said, pressing another tiny kiss onto her lips. It was sweet and gentle and soft, and seemed to match their relationship perfectly.
"Huhuhuhu…"
The two instantly stepped away from each other, turning to be greeted by their friends watching them in awe. Lemon was holding onto the camera, pointing it directly at them.
"L-Lemon-senpai…! Wha"—
"This'll be great for the movie," Lemon said with an evil smile. Tetsuro and Mio stared at her in disbelief.
"Good work, Tetsuro," Kaito laughed as he patted his friends back. He gaped at him.
"You guys make a cute couple," Ichika said with a smile as she, Kaito and Lemon made their way back to the table. Mio blushed.
Kanna placed her hands on both of their shoulders, eyeing them suspiciously. "You're both my best friends, and I didn't hear a thing about this," she complained, glaring mainly at Tetsuro.
"If you do anything to her, I won't let you off easily," she told him, poking him roughly in the chest. He laughed nervously.
"Hmph," Kanna said, picking up the drinks they had left on the table before following the others.
"Well…I guess we should go too, huh?" Tetsuro asked, turning to face Mio, who merely nodded towards him. He cleared his throat as he held out his hand towards her. She gazed at it, not knowing what exactly he was doing. He loudly cleared his throat again before tilting his head towards his hand.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she finally realized what he was doing. She giggled softly as she held onto his hand.
"Hm…let's do this. If you forget again, I'll still flick your forehead. But for every time you remember, I'll do what I did earlier."
"E-e-eh…"
"Kidding. Maybe."
A/N: I absolutely love this couple.
I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have made (story wise and grammar wise).
Thanks for reading!