Tengoku e (To heaven)

[Emi Hitokata]

ooc: Ryuu. Continued from the Nekked thread.

Her heart skipped a beat as Ryuu took her hand and pulled her away from the chaos in the courtyard. They were now speeding past dozens of naked people, but she didn't really notice that. All she could see was the handsome Japanese boy leading her away. His hand felt so warm and big, and it gave her some sort of protection.

In Japan, she would have been extremely embarrassed about holding hands with a boy in public. However, they were in America where crazy naked people ran all over the place. The thoughts that today would be a bad first day at school went away, replaced by happiness.

He asked for her name and she yelled out,"Hitokata Emi." She grinned, realizing that this was their first step to getting to know each other. He probably asked her her name so that they could get to know each other a little better.

They were heading down one of #42's numerous halls. She had failed to memorize the layout of the school, so she had no idea what his destination was.

"Dokoikuno?(Where are we going?)" she asked curiously.

[Ryuu]

"Hitokata Emi." "Nice to meet you Emi." he called behind him, as he slowed his pace down to a walk now, he didn't realize he was still holding onto her hand, as he made his way down the hallway, only when he had almost reached the hallway where the lockers were located, did he realize that. "Ah," he said, as he quickly released her hand from his, "Sorry." That was strange. Her hand felt warm in his, and for some reason, he didn't want to let go of her hand, but had to force himself to. Back in Japan, the only girl he had ever hung out with was his older sister, Kyoko, which was perfectly fine. But if he had been holding Emi's hand back in Tokyo, he would've been extremely nervous and embarrassed, but they were not in Japan, they were in the United States, and they had just been surrounded by dozens of naked people, frolicking like it was nothing. Nice way to welcome the new people. Welcome to America huh? "Dokoikuno?(Where are we going?)"

"You'll see," he replied back, looking over his shoulder at her, "You know, you should talk in English. Not everyone you meet is going to know Japanese like me." Not only could Ryuu speak fluent Japanese, he could also speak fluent English. So in essence, he was one of the two people there who could understand Emi's scream in Japanese, the other one being Emily, but he didn't know she knew Japanese. He continued down the hallway a bit more, and then stopped in front of one the lockers, and spun the combination lock before unlocking it, and opened up his locker, which had a calendar of Japan's national soccer team tacked up on the inside of the locker door, and placed the book he had been reading inside, right beside his soccer ball on the top shelf, before slamming his locker shut and locked it. He then walked down the hallway, and reached the entrance to the rooftop. He pulled the door open, holding it for Emi, before following in after her, and led the way up to the rooftop.

Reaching the door at the top of the stairs, Ryuu pushed the door open, and walked onto the empty rooftop (Thankfully not the one Winklewood was on) of the main academic building. The sun shined down on him from above, a few wispy clouds drifting lazily in the sky, as Ryuu walked to the edge of the rooftop, and stretched his arms over his head, before turning to Emi. "This is where we were going." He then leaned against the metal bar fence put up to prevent students from toppling over the edge of the rooftop, as a warm light breeze blew, blowing his hair back slightly. "Why are you here? What brought you here to this school?" Not that Ryuu was complaining, he was kind of glad that Emi had come to this school, since he was able to meet her.

[Emi Hitokata]

Ryuu finally slowed down to a walk, which was a relief for her. She found it a little hard to keep up with him moments earlier due to her high-heeled boots and his long legs. Her heart was beating so hard, as if it was about to burst out of her chest. However, all that running had nothing to do with it. She suspected that it was the cause of a very cute Japanese boy.

They barely knew each other, and already she was developing a very fangirl crush on him. He was good-looking, seemed kind, and was mature considering that he was the only guy that didn't get naked. However, his looks stuck out the most. Emi cursed herself silently for being the kind of girl who chose appearance over personality.

He suddenly told her something in English, and it took her a few seconds to understand it completely. She blushed and looked away in embarrassment. His English and Japanese were so perfect, and she was jealous of it. He obviously had no idea that she was struggling with English. It was best to keep that a secret. From now on, she was going to try to give the impression that she was as fluent as every other student in the school. She'll even do her best to hide her accent that marked her as a foreigner that just came to America.

"Yes," she simply answered. It was short and simple word, meaning that she could get away with saying it without revealing that she had an accent.

They were going down a hallway full of lockers, and Ryuu stopped at his. She looked away as he did his combination, just to avoid looking nosy. Her face was turned the whole time, but she could have sworn that she saw a poster of her favorite soccer team. It made her heart flutter, because she at least knew that they shared similar interests.

They were now heading up a flight of stairs, and Emi realized that they were heading towards the roof. She grinned since it was a place in the school that she had failed to explore. However, she remembered that she left her lunch box back in the courtyard which ruined the moment.

Oh well, maybe she can go back later to see if it was still there. Right now, she wanted to experience the roof without being bothered by stressful thoughts.

The roof was slightly windy, and she was lucky that her hair was short. However, she was wearing a skirt, meaning that she had to casually lean against the wall with her hands at her sides to prevent it from blowing up. She was sure that Ryuu wouldn't be able to tell a thing because Emi perfected this back in middle school where her skirt was even shorter.

"My father's job," she answered. Damn, her accent was still there.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu didn't know why, but his heart was beating rapidly, like it was about to burst out of his chest, and it wasn't because of the running they had done. Ryuu was still clueless as ever about his own feelings, though slowly, he was starting to realize them bit by bit. As soon as he spoke in English, he saw her blush and look away in embarrassment, he had a feeling she didn't speak English as well as he did, so he decided to speak solely Japanese to her, though eventually, she would have to speak it. "Yes." He heard her answer simply, as they walked down the hallway and stopped at Ryuu's locker, as he grabbed his lock and spun the combination to unlock it. He saw Emi look away as he did so, but he wouldn't have mind if she saw his combo, it wasn't a big deal really. As soon as he placed his book away and slammed his locker shut, they then headed up the flight of stairs leading to the rooftop. Once they reached the rooftop, Ryuu asked why she was here, as he turned his head as he leaned against the metal bar fence.

He saw she was casually leaning against the wall, her hands by her side, and for a good reason, it was pretty windy up here. "My father's job." He heard her answer, hearing the accent in her voice. "Ah, your father, I see," Ryuu replied, as he continued to lean against the fence, "My father had been in a coma, and once he had awoken, my older sister and I moved here with him, since there were painful memories back in Tokyo." Ryuu then faced forward once more, the wind blowing his hair back. He continued to lean against the fence, before realizing something. Back at the courtyard, before the crowd of naked people had come streaming in, he remembered he had seen Emi before, sitting at the picnic table located across from him, eating from a lunch box. He had seen her, but didn't pay attention to her, mostly because when he had looked up, it was to let his eyes rest from reading. But when he had grabbed her hand, and the two of them escaped, she didn't have her lunch box with her, which meant it was still back at the courtyard.

Pushing off from the fence, he turned around, and held up his index finger. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." With that said, Ryuu walked down the stairs, and headed out of the building, back towards the courtyard. All the naked people were still there, except a few of them, Ryuu noticed, were drenched in something liquid-like, what it was, Ryuu didn't want to know. He made his way through the courtyard, and reached the picnic table Emi had been at, and searched around for the lunch box, finally finding it underneath the table, safe and dry. He placed the cover back on, and then headed back to the main building. A few minutes later, he walked back into the building, and headed to the rooftop stairs, and climbed them, before emerging back onto the rooftop, the lunch box hidden behind his back. "I think I found something of yours." He said as he walked over to Emi and stopped in front of her, before whipping his arm out from behind his back. A light breeze blew his hair back, as sunlight shone down, turning his hair a light color, as he held out the lunch box to her. "You left it back in the courtyard."

[Emi Hitokata]

Hearing Ryuu's family situation, Emi looked down and fidgeted, a typical response for any Tokyoite who heard someone say anything too direct or uncomfortable. She honestly had no idea how she could reply to what he just said because one wrong word could offend him. Changing the subject might be a good idea, but then he might get the hint that she didn't want to hear that, and everything between them would be ruined.

She said the only thing that should could think of as being unoffensive: "I amu sorri abauto your sichuashion." (I am sorry about your situation.)

Emi looked up to see the Japanese boy leaning against the fence. She imagined that what he was going through was emotionally painful. A part of her began to want to help him out. Although she could not bring anyone back from a coma, she was sure that she could provide Ryuu with emotional support.

Before she could even take a stand up to join him at the railing, he turned around and told her to stay where she was. She paused, her head tilted to the side, feeling a little confused. For a second, she wondered if he somehow knew that she was going to come over to comfort him. However, that was impossible; it wasn't as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

He left, and she was left alone on the roof. Making sure that her skirt was held down, she walked to the fence. Below her, she had a great view of the courtyard. There were too many people, which made it impossible to see who was who. However, she could hear screaming; they were probably having a lot of fun. Most of them were peach-colored blots, so she moved away to avoid bringing up the traumatic memories of what happened.

Instead, she went back to her spot on the wall and sat down. She pulled out her cell phone and went through her messages. However, except for a few dozen sent by her annoying brothers, there were none from people her age, obviously because she wasn't here long enough to ask for someone's phone number.

A few minutes later, Ryuu came back, and she placed her cell phone on the concrete floor beside her. His hands were behind his back, but she really didn't think much of it. It was only until he mentioned that he had something that belonged to her that she noticed. Her face brightened as he pulled out her familiar brown lunch box with the green flower design on it. She bought it before she left for America and was quite fond of it. Ryuu saved her the trouble of going back to the courtyard after school, and she was thankful.

"Thank you!"

She reached up and took the lunch box from him. As she looked into his face, she couldn't help but notice how great he looked with the light shining in her hair. This scene reminded her of what often happened in a shojo manga. Her grin widened as that dreamy stare reappeared on her face.

[Ryuu]

As soon as Ryuu told Emi why he was here, he saw her look down and fidget, a typical response for anyone from Tokyo who heard someone say something that was too direct or too uncomfortable, and and Ryuu couldn't help but discretely turn away and stare carefully into empty space. He didn't mind if she changed the subject, since his father was here in San Francisco, both he and his sister visited him every chance they had, they just sat beside him and talked to him, even though the both of them knew he wouldn't be waking up for a long while, not yet, anyways. "I amu sorri abauto your sichuashion. (I am sorry about your situation.)" He looked at Emi, she really was struggling with English, all her words were mixed with her accent, as his expression softened slightly. "Arigato... (Thank you...)" He then faced forward once more, staring up at the sky, before turning around a few minutes later, and told Emi to stay where she was. He saw her pause and tilt her head, she was probably confused, as he left, leaving her alone on the rooftop.

A few minutes later, he managed to retrieve her (Thankfully dry) lunchbox from the courtyard, and headed back up the stairs to the rooftop. He walked back onto the rooftop, and walked up to Emi, who was sitting down at the wall she had been leaning against, her cell phone beside her on the concrete floor. His right hand was hidden behind his back, but it seemed she didn't notice, not until he told her he had something that belonged to her, and saw her face brighten when he pulled out her brown lunch box with a green flower design on it, he had saved her the trouble and possibly recurring traumatic memories resurfacing of having to go search for her lunch box back in the courtyard. "Thank you!" "It's no trouble," Ryuu replied, as she reached up and took the lunch box from his hand, "It saved you the trouble of going back there and having to find it." That, and having to see what happened back there, pools of liquid everywhere, it was something Ryuu rather have Emi not see.

He wasn't sure why he cared about Emi so much, or why he wanted to protect her so much, he didn’t realize that he was starting to develop a crush on her, despite barely knowing her, and just meeting her today, but what he did know was, he liked hanging around and talking to her. As he saw her stare up at him, while he stared down at her, he saw her grin widen as a dreamy stare appeared on her face, while Ryuu looked back at her with... a soft but puzzled expression on his face. He had no idea that the sunlight shining down on him made him look like a guy from a shojo manga. He then walked back to the metal bar fence, and leaned against it once more. "I know we just met," he said, as a warm gentle breeze blew, "But I wouldn't mind hanging out with you more often. Sorry if that sounds weird." If she came over to stand beside him, he would move over slightly, to make room for her. Ryuu was definitely developing a crush on Emi, but sadly, he had no idea he was, and if that crush ever expanded to something more, not even I know if it will.

[Emi Hitokata]

Luckily for her, Ryuu went back to speaking Japanese. She was glad since it was her stronger language, but she couldn't help but wonder if he did that because he knew that her English sucked. Oh my, it was horrible and embarrassing to even think that he thought her English sucked.

There were girls who were self-conscious by their bodies or appearance. Emi was that kind of girl, but it seemed that she was more self-conscious about the way she spoke English, especially around Ryuu. Unlike her, he was able to call himself bilingual. She didn't even doubt that he was used to American culture. It would have made her feel better if he couldn't speak Japanese as well as she could, but sadly that wasn't the case.

It wasn't as if she disliked him or anything; it was just that he seemed too perfect. He was good-looking, polite, and smart. Emi, for the first time in her life, felt inferior to him. Despite that, she developed this huge fan girl crush on him. However, she didn't think that he was single; he was too good-looking. She wanted to know if he had a girlfriend, but she was way too shy to ask such a personal question. Also, her crush for him would become obvious, if it wasn't already.

He took his place at the railing again, and Emi thought about joining him there. She hesitated before she picked up her cell phone and walked over. The wind had died down slightly, meaning that she didn't have to make a fool of herself by having her skirt fly up. Along the way she placed her cell phone in the back pocket of her miniskirt. Several straps hung out, one of them being a small metal soccer ball.

She rested her arms on the railing and had a nice view of the school grounds. Except for the dozens of peach colored blots. Sighing, she turned around and allowed her elbows to rest on the metal. If she turned her head slightly, she could catch a glimpse of Ryuu's face, which was a preferable view.

"U-un(Y-yes)," she studdered. This was too good to be true. Emi actually had to repeat the words he said over and over in her head to make sure that she didn't misunderstand a single thing. Although he didn't actually ask her out on a date or anything romantic, he still said that he wanted to hang out with her, and that was good enough for her. Actually, as long as she got to see him, anything would be nice.

"Un, soudane(Yeah, I think so too)," Emi continued as a rosy color appeared on her cheeks. She found that it was best not to stare directly into his eyes, unless she wanted her face to turn the color of an apple.

An thought came to mind, and she took out her cell phone. Compared to what she used to own in Japan, it was a total piece of junk. It didn't even have infrared rays or TV on it. However, she had to live with it until America catches up with Japan on cell phone technology. Pfft as if that would ever happen.

"Denwa bangou oshietekurenai?(Could you tell me your phone number?)" she asked cautiously. Usually in Japan, it was the other way around. However, this is America and she was sure that it was socially acceptable for a girl to make the first move.

[Ryuu]

As soon as Emi had joined him at the metal railing, Ryuu shifted over to make room for her. It was hard to believe that he was standing on the rooftop, with an extremely pretty Japanese girl right beside him. Despite spending a year in San Francisco, Ryuu only knew a bit about the American culture here, and spent most of his time in the district called Nihonmachi. He saw her rest her arms on the railing, the both of them had a nice view of the school grounds, and unfortunately, they could still see the dozens of naked people over in the courtyard, though they were more like peach blots than anything else. Ryuu heard Emi sigh and turn around, allowing her elbows to rest on the metal, as Ryuu continued to lean against the bar, staring up at the sky, wispy white clouds drifting above him lazily in a clear blue sky. "U-un(Y-yes)." He heard her stutter, as he turned his head and looked over at her, smiling slightly, though her answer repeated over and over in his mind: She had said yes. She didn't think it was weird. *insert chorus of angels* Well no, not really a chorus of angels, but that showed how Ryuu was feeling right now.

Honestly, they didn't have to hang out, as long as Ryuu got to see her, he didn't care what it was they were doing. "Un, soudane(Yeah, I think so too)." He saw a rosy color appear on her cheeks, as Ryuu looked at her, but tried to not stare directly into her eyes, or he'd end up blushing furiously, and he really didn't want that to happen. He then saw her pull out her cell phone, as he saw the several straps hung on it, including a metal soccer ball, exactly like the one he had on his cell phone, except his, was from one of the national games played by Japan's national soccer team. "Denwa bangou oshietekurenai?(Could you tell me your phone number?)" Ryuu paused for a minute, before nodding and pulled out his cell phone, it had the metal soccer ball strap hung on it, as well as a metal bokuto strap. Once he had given her his phone number, and she had told him her number, he placed his cell back into his jeans pocket.

He then turned around, and leaned against the railing, his arms hung loosely by his side, as he stared up at the sky. Unconsciously, as he stood beside Emi, his hand had slowly stretched out, and took her own hand into his own. Only after a few minutes had passed, and he looked over at her, did he realize he was holding her hand, and blushed slightly, but no matter how much he tried, he just didn't want to let go of her hand. "Ah..." He said, looking at her, he just met her, and he was already falling for her. Funny how life works. It was pretty obvious by now that he had a crush on her, he was realizing it, and if this didn't show how obvious it was, I don't know what will. Wh..why does my heart feel like it's going to burst out of my chest? And why is it that I don't want to let go of her hand? I know I should but I can't. What is going on? Unless... And then it hit him like a brick wall. He finally realized he had fallen for Emi. He had a crush on her, and she had a crush on him. Only time would tell when either one of them would figure out the feelings the two of them shared for each other. "Ah... If you want to go out somewhere today after school, I can show you around... Well, it doesn't have to be today, it can be any day you're free, and even if I don't have the time, I'll make the time for you..."

[Emi Hitokata]

Emi felt slightly jealous as Ryuu pulled out an i-phone. It was nothing compared to Japanese cell phones, but it was way better than what she had right now. Despite that, she still begged her father to get her one, but he refused, saying that it was too expensive and inappropriate for a girl her age. She was forced to make do with what she had.

As she stared at his phone in awe, she noticed a soccer ball similar to the one she had. Next to it, she also saw a strap in the shape of a bokutou. Was he familiar with Japanese sword fighting? Well, she could imagine him wearing all that heavy Kendo gear which she had admit was a pretty hot sight. Perhaps they could have a long talk about that if they ever had the chance to hang out.

After they switched numbers, she smiled and thanked him before she placed her phone into her back pocket. As soon as that was done, they leaned against the bars with nothing to say. The silence was slightly uncomfortable but began to turn peaceful as the seconds flew by. She was content with it until he daringly reached over to grab her hand.

She was obviously shocked as her heart skipped a beat. His hand felt so warm against her cool fingers. The hotness in her face began to spread until her whole body felt as if it was on fire. She was unfamiliar with this feeling, so she had no idea if she liked or hated it. However, she knew that it was slightly uncomfortable and too intimate for her tastes. She blamed it on her strict upbringing.

After what seemed like minutes, he let go, allowing her body to cool. However, her cheeks were still red, most likely from embarrassment. She looked down, unable to look him in the eye.

"Un, kondo asoboune. Demo kyou no houkago wa chotto isogashiikara, atode."
(Yeah, lets hang out. But I'm busy after school, so it will have to be some other time.)

The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of lunch. Emi had five minutes to grab her books and make it to her next class. She was still wasn't used to the time or school layout, so it was best to hurry. She turned and smiled to Ryuu before she picked up her lunch box and ran. Her cheeks still felt hot, and she could swear that the hand Ryuu held felt tingly.

Despite the awkward situation that happened minutes ago, Emi still had to admit that she had a huge crush on Ryuu Hikari.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu noticed Emi staring at his iPhone in awe, which made him extremely embarrassed, because his phone was much better than the one she had, though no American cell phone could ever beat the cell phone he had back in Japan, but because his phone wouldn't work here in the United States, he was forced to leave it behind back in Tokyo. As soon as they had switched numbers, he saw her smile and thank him, as he nodded back at her and placed his cell back into his jeans pocket, he was always extremely careful with his phone, he didn't want to drop it. Sure, he could always get a new phone if this one broke, but that would be a waste of money, so Ryuu was always careful with all his belongings. He then resumed leaning against the metal railing, the two of them stood there in awkward silence, you could cut the tension with a knife, but as time passed, the awkwardness slowly abated, and turned peaceful. Well, it was peaceful, until Ryuu had unconsciously reached out and took hold of Emi's hand, he hadn't realized he had done so until he had looked over her, and he swore he nearly had a heart attack from it.

He could see she was obviously shocked, but then again, so was Ryuu, he looked absolutely speechless that he had even done it in the first place. Her hand felt cool against his warm hand, as he tried to speak, but no words came out. He was extremely unfamiliar with this feeling, and had no idea how to react to it, since he had been around his sister most of his life, and during high school, he had been occupied with playing sports, than worrying about forming a relationship with a girl. He was very uncomfortable with it, and after a few minutes, he finally released her hand, quickly taking his hand back and shoving it into his pocket, his other hand was already in his pocket. He could see Emi's cheeks were still red from embarrassment, as he looked away, unable to look at her, his face was flushed red furiously from the moment, but his embarrassment slowly dissipated, and his face turned back to normal. He cringed inwardly, she probably didn't want to hang out with him anymore, not after what he just did. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth. "Un, kondo asoboune. Demo kyou no houkago wa chotto isogashiikara, atode. (Yeah, let's hang out. But I'm busy after school, so it will have to be some other time.)"

Ryuu's head instantly whipped around to face Emi, a surprised look on his face. She still wanted to hang out with him? She didn't hate him for what he did? Ryuu swore he could've died a happy man right now, but if he did die, he wouldn't be able to hang out with her, so let's just say he was extremely happy. "Ah... Sure, just call or tell me whenever you're free." He heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch. Ryuu had a few minutes to grab his books from his locker and get to class. He saw her turn and smile at him before she picked up her lunch box and ran. He watched her disappear through the rooftop door, as he lifted his hand that had held her hand before up and looked at it, his hand silhouetted against the sunlight. He swore his hand felt tingly, as a content smile appeared on his face. Lowering his hand, Ryuu shoved his hands into his pockets, and began to walk towards the door, and off the rooftop. Despite the awkward moment shared between the two of them, Ryuu had to admit he had a crush on Emi Hitokata, and wouldn't mind seeing her again, in and out of school.

(End Thread)