Struck

6th Strike

//Tora

"What a nice show, Igarashi," someone beside us said with sarcasm in his voice.

"Usui?! What are you doing here?" Misaki asked and she literally jumped away from me.

Of course he's here.

I'm still looking at Misaki but her eyes are now fixated on Usui.

I make myself smile - the one that declares war- as I saunter over to Misaki. I snaked my hand on her waist and pull her closer to me.

"Thank you, Usui," I said mockingly. Misaki tensed but didn't pull away from me again. I can't fathom just how much that relieves me. "It was a marvelous gesture for a gorgeous lady."

He smirked and I know what his next move will be so I immediately place Misaki behind me in a protective way.

"She's my guest and my partner for tonight," I said seriously now.

It was followed by a long moment of staring contest that might have never ended had it not been for Misaki. She pulled at my hand and led me away from there, much to my and Usui's surprise.

"My, how the table has turned," I tease but she didn't respond. In fact, she's too quiet. I dragged my feet and she stopped. We're now on the second floor of the event hall. "Ayuzawa?" I was surprised with the sincerity on my tone.

"Usui and I... We're... Kind of... We... Ugh! I don't really know." She can't look me in the eye.

I sat down the velvet floor and leaned my head back on the wall.

"So, you were just leading me on." Again, I'm surprised with just how much sadness I said that.

"What? No! I---" she finally looked me in the eye and slowly sat down in front of me and held my hand. "You're an amazing guy, Igarashi. Back there," she gestured towards the stage, "I felt something..." She looked down and as if realising something she leaned in. "Please... Kiss me."

I cupped her delicate face with my right hand, looked at her eyes then down to her lips. She bit her lip unconsciously that made me gulp and look back at her eyes.

Her eyes...

"I can't." I backed away like the idiot that I was.

"W-what?" She looked so taken aback by the fact that I can't kiss her.

"I don't want to kiss you like this. Not like this. I can't kiss you while you are confused. What I want is that when I finally kiss your perfect and ravishing lips, it will be with so much certainty and undenied feelings. I like you, Ayuzawa..." I held her chin between my forefinger and thumb and looked her in her eyes. "But you don't know how you feel for me yet. I will make you sure of it, one step at a time."

"But..." She backed away from me and sat opposite me.

"I finally found you."

//Misaki

He serenaded me. He's so different from when he almost harassed me.

But Usui and I have been kind of intimate lately. He saved me from countless of situations. He kept his promise not to tell anyone about my job even if he botheres me relentlessly when I'm at work. But Usui's a great guy.

Usui has had my back since I met him and Igarashi fooled me but somehow I feel conflicted between the two of them.

Why am I even attracted to Igarashi? Usui's perfect. There's just something about Tora that makes me feel weird...good weird.

"So, you and Igarashi, huh?" He's standing in front of me. He just came back from his talk with Igarashi.

"I don't know, Usui." I looked him in the eye. There's still something there. There's just something...missing? Ugh! I hate myself. I don't deserve anyone. And I'm supposed to hate guys.

"You should probably hear this," he took a step and locked me using his body to the veranda. "I have adored you since the first day I saw you. You weren't the SC President back then. It was the day of the entrance exam. I saw you in the hallway. You're head was down and it's as if you wanted to be invisible. But someone asked you something I didn't hear and you looked up and gestured something. He bowed 'thank you' and scurried away but you just stood there looking shocked and in awe at the school hallway that was gonna be your home for some years.

"I saw you take in everything and I thought you were gonna leave because before you were the President, the school was a mess but you smiled, Ayuzawa. You smiled and I somehow saw you glow like a charcoal in the midst of ashes. You held your head high and I knew back then you were planning to do great things for your new home.

"And I can't stop thinking about you since then. I have loved you since and I am still in awe at just how much I can love every single thing about you more and more every day. I have dropped hints before but now I'm not suppressing my feelings anymore. I love you, Ayuzawa. I'll do whatever it takes just to have your heart beat for me, only for me, again."

He was breathless after that speech so he took his time and put some loose strands of my hair behind my ear and slowly leaned in.

Everything that has happened when I'm with him started rushing back. Those feelings were water contained within a dam and the dam just broke. Waters overflow me. And I kissed him back. I am still just getting over my hatred of men but I think it's safe to say, "I think I like you, too."