(Originally written: 12/16/2011)

So I watch this anime, love it, fall in love with one of the characters, get all hyped up about reading some fanfiction about it, and realize there are ONLY TWO stories written about it, and all the forums and stories have nothing professing love to the lovable giant! How could this be? MISAO ZAITSU IS SO SUCH A CUTE PATOOTIE!

Though I doubt, since there are only two stories of this anime, that anyone will read this, but still, I love this character so much, and the pairing of AyumixMisao that I can't help it. You write 'cause you love, not so you please, right?

Disclaimer: Do not own Hatsukoi Limited

Primitive Ardency

She never thought it would turn out like this, or more so, with him.

On this and such, she was supposed to be depressed. Not because of the occasion, but because of the circumstance.

This was her first date.

Her first, first date.

And she was… to be with her Zaitsu-kun. The young boy with a simple, pretty face and fantastic blue eyes. A boy who made her heart squeeze and who made her feel tingly inside.

A boy who loved another girl.

She understood, she really did. You can't help who you like, and after his ardent shouts to the blazing sun under the witness of the gushing sparkles along the water, she couldn't have been more sure.

Still, he was her first love. Her first knight in shining armor, her first to-do-anything for guy, her first run-after-in-blind-stupidity boy. He was her first. That's why she didn't give up on him—against the fact that she knew he loved another, against the fact that he felt nothing for her, against the fact that it was his brother who was the first to make her heart thump.

Funny thing. Her first emotional thump was to a man that scared her. No… that wasn't right. It was to a very oversized man who was in love with her and happened to have frightening features, but something of a heart, or at least, enough to feel something other than negativity.

But still… she was girl. A girl in love and a girl who pursued. Much as she did to leave her own Zaitsu-kun to heal, it seemed that he was no step closer to forgetting Yamamoto-san, or at least, no step closer to feeling something for herself.

She didn't want those kind and awkward smiles; she didn't want those guilty eyes, his I'm-sorry looks and his wall that he continuously thrust between them. Every time she stepped closer, she heard a yell, a scream. Ugly words under that ugly look on his sweet face.

"Stop it! I won't love you! Stop doing this to yourself!"

And she'd put on a fake, pretty little smile, open chitchat or force burnt cookies on him, let her stomach tingle and then her heart contract as he turned around and left.

She noticed them—the aching lurches, as time began to wear by. She was tired of his face and of that look and of his silent rejections. She was tired of her own heart and of her attempts and her-

"I'll try again tomorrow!"

He noticed it, too, along the way. He must have. They all did.

Kei-chan had given her a strong smile, "If you really think he's worth it, keep going, Ayumi! Remember the insides!"

Doba-chan held an exasperated expression, "Ew, quit saying that, Enomoto. (sigh) If you're not sure of this anymore, maybe you should lay off?"

Koyoi and her enthusiasm, "Here! Use the flower!"

Chikura-chan kept it simple, "It all depends, Ayu-chan. Are you happy?"

Sogabe-kun used wisdom of something, "If you don't feel fulfilled, then perhaps a different path is in order."

Kusuda-kun… was stupid, "Didn't I give you an answer…? I already did? So why are you asking me? …Different? Umm… okay… err… left?"

"You know what?" Ayumi burst out, drawing the attention of her classmates, "You all SUCK at giving advice! Can't any of you give a straight answer?"

She stormed off, and Mamoru looked away.

As expected, the frustration had finally gotten to her.

"Th-Then let's go have s-some dinner, or a mov-"

"Ayumi, stop." She blinked, green eyes with the sparkle of youth and a perplexed smile.

"Huh?"

"I… You can't go out with me." Mamoru started.

Ayumi blinked, leaning in as her hazardous emotions broke through. "Why not?"

"Because… this would be your first, wouldn't it?" He mumbled, pink dusting his cheeks.

"Huh?" She retreated.

"Your… first d-date." His blush darkened, and hers joined, but it didn't stop her happy smile.

"So? I want it to be with you!" She gave him such a loving and hopeful smile that it had his chest constricting with that guilt. He hated it so much, the fact that he couldn't love her the way she loved him. Ayumi was pretty, and fun, and humorous, and charming—but he couldn't help it. His heart thumped wildly for Saki-nee.

"You… you can't have it with me."

And he hated himself for making her look like that. Confused and small. Ayumi was strong and blazing, like a combusting sun or a firework, and standing in front of him, she suddenly looked alone and lost with her arms hanging limply at her sides.

"Wh…Why…?"

"Because… it'd be unfair to you—for you to go on your first date with someone who doesn't love you back." She swallowed thickly. He sagged heavily.

"But… But I…" Desperation poured through, "At least give it a chance!"

"You… deserve a date with someone who actually loves you…" And then it struck, "…Go with my brother."

She blinked. "What?"

"Go with my brother. Go on your first date with my brother." He spoke strongly, as if he was suddenly more sure of anything in the world, "And after that, if you still want to, I'll spend your second date with you."

"What? What are you saying?" She stepped back, "Are you SERIOUS?"

"I… wouldn't feel right, taking you out on your first date when I can't reciprocate your feelings. It would ruin everything."

"But-" Despite the gathering salt in her eyes, it magnified her green hues and made her look lovely, and he could only think of how angry his brother would be if he knew that he made Ayumi cry.

He wasn't feeling too proud of himself either.

"Go out with my brother, and if things don't work out, then I'll take you out on the next one."

So here she was, on her first date, where she was supposed to be depressed for a lot of reasons, despite the occasion.

She was supposed to be miserable because… she wasn't here with Zaitsu-kun… she heard his confession of his non-existent feelings for her… she was spending it with his giant of a brother.

She didn't want this. She didn't want to spend the night with Misao. This was her first date! He wasn't supposed to be here. Not in the picture, not on her first date. This night was supposed to be a night of perfection with pink clouds of love and the glow of white behind her prince as he saddled the pallid Pegasus.

She wanted to be angry with him. To hate him. To yell horrid things at him.

But she couldn't do it. Not when she saw that look on his face. The look of utter and pure joy as he stepped down those stairs, looking at her as if she was the only one there.

The look made her heart leap.

"You… You-You look pr-pr-pretty, Ay-Ayumi-chan." The way he was fiddling, his big, goofy grin, and the utter nervousness that radiated off of him made her laugh. She pinned the obviously expensive white carnation on her little pink dress, smiling at how hard he was trying. He had done everything, down to cleaning himself squeaky clean and buying nice, new clothes, that of which she noticed as she eyed a small tag sticking out from under his shirt.

Giggling, she tugged at it, pulling it loose as she waved it at him. "You forgot this."

His embarrassed smile only made her laugh. It was… too cute. Everything—and the fact that he was fast on pleasing her made her warm inside.

She peeked at him through her lashes; the cloudy look in his eye as he stared at her caught her attention. "Misao? What are you staring at? Come on! Where are you taking me?"

And that big, goofy smile. She had a feeling that smile would grow on her.

"Ahaha-! It explodes in your mouth!" She giggled, smiling up at him. She liked doing that, making him blush. It made her feel warm, and happy, and tingly, and-

It made her feel loved.

And he was so kind to her. And she was cruel to think that this date would be miserable.

Everything about this date was so unique and so alien to her dream that it made it beyond perfection. Misao had taken her a little ways far, frantically asking her every often and so if she had gotten tired from walking, to an open street she didn't even know existed, and on the wide stretch of gravel were rows and rows of brightly lit stores and vending stalls and dancing acrobats and flashing colors.

"A festival?" She squealed, her eyes alight with excitement.

"An unannounced one. Stores here own oddly-assorted items, so it's not very popular, but they hold parties like these to celebrate each other. People here stick together like family." He huffed his chest proudly, her thrill pouring pride into his gut.

"Awah…" She smiled, her heart warming with the way he said those words—how genuine his voice was. "That's so… sweet…"

And from then on, he had led her to every store, stall, or entertainer that she pleased to see. He waited for her as she sifted through the items on the displays, despite the lengthy time she took.

"No wonder I've never heard of this place. Everything here is so weird!" She giggled mirthfully. She poked at a sponge shaped like an octopus that squirted bubblegum scented bubbles.

Glancing behind her where he stood, she took eye to the large distance between her date and the surrounding people as they eyed him warily, even the shopkeeper had himself pressed against the wall, and they all stared at her as if she was a strange and foreign creature; the only one by his side.

And all those stares, none of them bothered him. The only attention he paid was to her.

Eyes aflame with her own desire to show those people, and caught up in her own headstrong ways, she grabbed his arm, looping her small limb around his thick one.

"Come on! I smell something yummy and I wanna try it!" She laughed at his unending stutters and his red face.

She was having fun.

"But shouldn't his back, like, break or something?" Everything about him was honestly scary. His large frame, his enormous fists, his thick face, and his laugh.

Oh, man, his laugh! It was… thundering, literally. It was loud and boisterous and scared the cats away and made her laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.

The night was pretty and warm and the only sounds that accompanied them were the occasional rumblings of a passing car or the filtering voices from the television of a home. She filled the rest with her chatters and he did his best to make her smile.

Despite his assumed terrifying nature, Misao was quite fun to talk to. He was always so focused on what she said, listened to her every word.

It was nice. Everything… everything was just so nice.

And somehow the date that was supposed to end sooner than it started somehow didn't last to a forever. She didn't want the night to end. She wanted to talk to Misao more and wanted him to show her those other amazing things he spoke of.

And she was brave and confident with the way he felt for her, and it gave her happiness on a completely different level.

(she'd never been confident about this kind of thing before and it's warm in her knuckles)

Standing in front of her home at the gates where the air was light and the moon filmed them, she craned her neck to look up at him and concurred that he was just too lofty. Being the rash and impulsive creature she was, she swiftly swiped her leg under his, effectively tripping him as he went down more out of surprise than anything.

"Ay… Ayumi-chan?" He looked up at her in confusion and stun, and his face only got redder as he realized how close she was leaning into him.

She smiled charmingly, "You're too tall."

And exploded his world as she gently pressed her lips to his cheek. From this close, she noticed that he smelled quite nice, and that his skin was hot, and his curly fro tickled her ear, and she couldn't tell whether that crazy thumping was coming from him or from her.

Shyly pulling back, lashes dewed prettily at him from where she leaned, "'Night, Misao-kun."

And out of total girly happiness and joy, she scurried inside with a fat smile on her face, leaving him redder and happier than ever on the floor of her street.

"Well, you did it." Mamoru stated as he stood by her desk.

"Mm?" Ayumi mumbled, intent on finishing the last question before heading off to P.E.

"You… ahh… you went out with my brother."

She stopped, red splattering her cheeks, a dreamy smile at stake, "Ohh… uhh—yeah…"

"S-so…" Mamoru shifted from one foot to another, "…About… about that second date…"

Ayumi looked up at him, blinking before giving him a dazzling smile. "Sure!"

"Yeah… so… uh… you want… a movie or something…?" Mamoru scratched the back of his head, face red and foot fiddling.

She stood up, nodding vigorously, "Yes!"

She pulled out a paper, scribbling her number down, before handing it to the flustered boy. "Give this to Misao-kun, and tell him to meet me by the cinema at six, 'kay?"

And she grabbed her belongings and left, leaving the poor and utterly confused boy. "My… brother…?"