A/N : Gah, let's just do this! I'm a sucker for pairings other than Shizaya (I said that, but most of my fics were of them :D)~
I was too busy to catch up with the novels, so I can't write much about when Mikado changed. But here's the continuation of their date in episode 25! Enjoy this stupidly long ass one-shot~
When everyone has gone their separate ways, no longer interested in the area since the idol Hanejima Yuuhei went away, the pair of high school students stood there in awkward silence. The girl was hanging on the straps of her bag for dear life and the boy was smiling sheepishly at her while holding to a pair of movie tickets.
"Ah…sorry Sonohara-san. We kind of missed the movie." Mikado opted to look at the ground instead, worried that he'd anger Anri for wasting her time.
"Um…no…that's okay. A lot of things happened and…" stuttered Anri. She stopped in mid-sentence. She doesn't know how to continue and worried that Mikado would be mad. After all…he did bought the movie tickets only for it to go to waste.
The couple continued to not look at each other, unaware of their surroundings. Mikado looked back up and said, "Look, it's getting late. Maybe I should walk you home."
Anri was startled out of her thoughts. She didn't want to go home. Not yet. She watched silently as Mikado turned around and started walking in the direction of her house, mumbling apologies along the way.
"WAIT!" cried Anri as she grabbed Mikado's arm. Mikado stopped in his tracks, surprised at the unusually loud voice coming from her. "Don't apologise, it's not your fault! I'm not mad, really! I don't want to go home yet!"
"So-Sonohara-san?"
Anri let out a gasp. Somehow she had suddenly let out her thoughts in words in her panic and she blushed heavily. "Um, sorry."
Mikado mirrored her blushing. "N-no. It's okay..."
Anri really didn't want to go home yet, so she racked her brain hard for something for them to do. At that moment, she spied the tickets in Mikado's hands. She has made up her mind. She moved closer to Mikado and snatched the tickets from his hands.
"Um, it's only 6 p.m, Mikado-kun. It's not late." Anri smiled, trying to put Mikado at ease. Mikado flushed in embarrassment at his self-made curfew ever since he arrived at Ikebukuro. He couldn't believe how he had forced it on Anri of all people.
"So…" continued Anri, gaining Mikado's attention once again. "Let's make our own movie."
"Uh, what?"
"We mi-missed the movie, right? So let's create our own version of…" Anri looked at the tickets again for the title of the movie. "…of 'The View'! I've got my camera here."
"But…that's a horror film."
All of Anri's collected bravery deflated in an instant. She felt frustrated at coming up with a stupid idea. How in the world could remaking a horror movie be romantic? She looked away, trying to hide her reddening cheeks.
"Ah! Um…sorry…no, wait…What I meant was, we're making our own version, right? S-so it doesn't have to be horror…Agh, I feel so stupid!" stuttered Mikado. "Sorry."
Anri giggled and passed Mikado her camera, who gladly took it and turned on the video function. He focused it on Anri, since he didn't know when the 'remaking' should start. Anri then held up the movie tickets and ripped them in half, smiling.
"Honoured customer, thank you for your patronage! Please enjoy the movie!"
Mikado only smiled back.
"Even though it was my idea, I have no idea how to start."
Mikado looked at Anri and sat next to her on a nearby bench. "Why not start by tweaking the plot?"
When Anri looked at him in askance, Mikado continued. "Well, the story's about this journalist who found a relatively new and working camera at an abandoned house, right? And he started to take random pictures around the house and stuff."
"And of course the pictures turned out weird, obviously," said Anri.
"Pretty obvious. There were people in the pictures, people from the past. At first, they were like normal. Well, as normal as a photo of ghosts could be. Then after a few more shots, the ghosts in the pictures were slowly turning, as if looking at the journalist himself. However, in one of the pictures, he saw himself dying in a broken greenhouse…and uh, I didn't read the rest of the summary."
"Got scared?"
"I-I just want heads-up of all the scary parts, so I wouldn't scream like a girl in front of you and embarrass myself," confessed Mikado with a little laugh.
With a giggle, Anri turned towards Mikado. "Well, let's start with you finding a cell phone in the middle of the street while you got lost in Ikebukuro or something."
"Why a cell phone?"
"Do you have a camera?" Mikado shook his head. "Then, a cell phone it is."
They continued to discuss about the plot of their remaking for a while. Slowly, the awkwardness between them was dissipating into the air, leaving behind a relaxed and glowing atmosphere. They talked and argued about the plot over ice cream sundaes. Finally, they came to a conclusion.
Basically it entails a boy finding a cell phone dropped by a girl in the subway. After trying to call out to her in vain, he tried to chase her and managed to take a picture of her using her cell phone without thinking. To his surprise, the picture showed the girl holding hands with someone that looks like him, but wearing different clothes even though he was sure she was alone. He took two more pictures just to make sure and every time, the pictures come out totally different but with the same constant element: the girl and him. He then somehow tracked the girl down and after a series of events, realized that the pictures he took previously were telling the future. By the end, they fell in love with one another.
"Hmm…a bit clichéd, don't you think?" questioned Anri. Mikado stifled a laugh threatening to slip out his mouth.
"Relax? It's not like we're aiming for the Oscars or anything like that. Just for our entertainment. Besides, there's bound to be a lot of bloopers. I can't act."
"Me neither."
They both looked at each other and grinned. Mikado then nudged his head towards a nearby tree, pulling Anri towards it.
"Come on. Let's get this one picture. There's supposed to be a picture of the couple standing under a tree right?"
"Right. Um…but I think it's better to get someone else to take the picture?" asked Anri as she looked around for someone else to help. Being her bashful self, she felt awkward wanting to ask a stranger for a favour.
Before Mikado could flag someone down to help them, Anri stopped him and showed behind her. A tall, dark-skinned man was standing behind them and smiling while holding the camera. After thanking the man again, they both stood under the tree, closer than usual.
"Um…I think we're supposed to hold hands here," whispered Mikado. Seeing the blank look from Anri, he panicked once again and waved his hand around in an effort to cross out his last statement from ever being said. "Eh, b-but if you don't want to, then…it's fine. Um."
Anri grabbed hold of Mikado's right hand firmly and faced forward.
"Mikado-kun should smile for the camera too."
"Eh?" Mikado has never been so confused in all his life. So much that he froze while his brain tried to figure out what his next move should be. Anri moved closer when it was evident that Mikado isn't moving.
Anri bumped slightly into Mikado, causing him to stumble a bit; their shoulders touching ever so lightly. Mikado blushed from the contact.
"Mikado-kun should smile," repeated Anri with a smile of her own. Calming down, Mikado also turned to face the camera, his cheeks burning red. They both stood close until their picture was taken before Mikado couldn't take it any longer and sprang away immediately.
Anri herself was secretly sad from the loss of contact but hid it well as she walked towards the helpful stranger.
"Um, sorry for bothering you and taking so long. Thank you for taking our picture."
A bow.
The man smiled back with a twinkle in his eyes and replied, "You're welcome, Mother."
"I'm…I'm sorry!" exclaimed the dark-haired boy for the third time, bowing excessively even though the one being apologised to was not paying attention and just walked away in a rush. Standing back up straight with a heavy sigh, he turned his attention back to Anri who was recording the whole thing.
"Uh, Sonohara-san…can we just do that scene again? I keep screwing it up," whined Mikado as he walked up to her. With the camera still recording, Anri just lightly laughed and shooed him back to his previous spot. She moved a few steps back to prevent Mikado from reaching her, miraculously without bumping into anyone else in the crowded area.
"It's okay, it's okay…it's for fun, remember?"
"But! But!"
"It's okay! We'll laugh about it later when we edit it, okay?" said Anri as she looked from behind the camera. Her beaming smile caused Mikado to pause and stare, surprised that Anri could feel so at ease with all this. And yet, he's still fumbling like an idiot. I need to work harder, thought Mikado with a determined look.
But the look vanished in an instant when someone different ran into him, causing him to fall on his butt and cry out in pain. Muttering angrily as he rubbed his sore behind in the most vulgar way and stood up, his eyes met with Anri's. She had come running the second Mikado fell.
She blinked once, he blinked twice. Finally, Anri broke the silence between them and said in a half-whisper, "That's a wrap! Let's go to the next scene!"
And hurried away.
Realizing that she was still recording everything, Mikado gave out a gasp.
"AH! Wait! Did you record all that?" cried Mikado as he gave chase in panic. But Anri refused to stop and turned back her head to nod in confirmation, before increasing her speed. "Erase it! Erase it, right now!"
They both slipped in and out between the crowds and out the subway area, gasping and laughing all the way. "Seriously, Sonohara-san! WAIT UP!"
In his mind, Mikado could only think of one thing.
Man, this is so uncool…
"Wow! This place really does serve good pasta!" commented Mikado in between mouthfuls. He twirled his spaghetti with a fork and then stabbed a juicy meatball. "It's all thanks to Saika-san!"
The sound of a spoon clattering on a plate attracted Mikado's attention. He looked at Anri carefully, worried that she might not be well. Her pale face did nothing to lessen his concern.
"Are you okay, Sonohara-san? Do you need a rest?"
"Ah, no! It's nothing!" said Anri, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She wondered if Mikado meant her chat name, so she questioned him. "You know Saika-san?"
"Eh? Don't tell me you know her too?" exclaimed Mikado in surprise. Anri's silent nodding confirmed his question. "Wow, what a coincidence! She's nice, don't you think? I mentioned in a chat room that I was going on a date today, and she suggested this place."
"In a chat room? Yesterday?" Anri looked shocked as well. It couldn't be, right?, whispered the girl to herself.
"Yeah, turns out, she has a date today as well. So we kinda switched ideas back and forth for what to do on our dates." Mikado stabbed yet another meatball and ate it. When he looked back at Anri, he noticed that this time she was flushed.
"Are you sure you're alright? This time your face is red!" said Mikado hurriedly. He quickly changed place and sat next to Anri, trying his best to fan Anri with a few napkins. However, instead of turning things for the better, Anri sank more into embarrassment.
The bob-haired girl only blushed further, her thoughts rushing in her head. It can't be, it can't be, it can't be…
"That, um…"
"Yes, Sonohara-san?"
"Tanaka Tarou-kun?"
"Eh?"
Mikado had sat back in his own seat. The silence between the two went from friendly to awkward again. Granted, who would've thought that they were talking to each other anonymously last night with suggestions for their own date?
Anri tried to break the silence with a change in topics. Before she could do so, Mikado's cell phone on the dining table let out a brief ringtone, signalling the entry of a mail.
"Ah! Um, can I just get that, Sonohara-san?"
Anri nodded, not knowing what else to do at the moment. Her feet were shuffling under the table nervously. She was intrigued when Mikado only stared at his phone in silence and didn't move an inch afterwards.
"Is there something wrong, Mikado-kun?"
Mikado snapped out of whatever it is he was thinking of and exited the mail screen. He shook his head to tell Anri that he was absolutely fine. He then opened his mouth and said, "Sonohara-san?"
"Yes?"
"Looks like we don't need to take that picture of the scene where it showed us eating together in a diner from the outside."
Anri looked puzzled. "Whatever do you mean, Mikado-kun?"
But Mikado stayed silent. How could he possibly show Anri the picture where he was desperately fanning her with napkins a few moments ago?
Glancing out the side window of the small family diner, Mikado waved back discreetly to the grinning Van Gang, all four of them.
Another beep from Mikado's cell phone prompted him to look at his mail again. When he read it he groaned. The mail was from Erika. He typed his reply furiously under the scrutiny of Anri's curious gaze.
[I'm grateful for the picture, Karisawa-san. Really, I am. But please, for the last time, I am not two-timing Masaomi. We're not even together for goodness sake!]
It was about 9 p.m. They walked around aimlessly after getting out of the diner, their fingers intertwined around each others'. Anri smiled sheepishly when she tugged a little at Mikado's hand.
"Sorry, I forgot we were remaking a film tonight. I, um, forgot to record anything…" mumbled Anri in guilt.
Mikado laughed. "No worries. It was fun, anyway. Right?"
"Em, it was."
They continued to walk around Ikebukuro hand in hand. Anri thought she had used up her whole year's worth of courage when she leaned in a little and rested her head on Mikado's shoulder. When Mikado didn't say anything to push her away, she let herself relax.
It was then, that her phone beeped.
"Yeah, it's okay. You can get that," said Mikado. But Anri really didn't want to, because it would mean that she would have to stop resting her head on his shoulder and let go of his hand just to rummage her bag for her phone. She didn't think that she would have enough courage to do such a thing again afterwards.
Regardless, she searched for her cell phone anyway, regretting the loss of contact. When she flipped open her phone with her left hand, Mikado took hold of her right hand once again and wrapped their fingers together.
Wordlessly, she leaned back her head at the previous spot, contentment visible on her face.
"Oh, it's from Celty-san!"
"Celty-san?"
Anri nodded and opened the mail. They both peered on the small screen. They both blushed equally red when they saw the picture being sent. It was of both of them holding hands, looking like everything is right with the world.
When a certain headless rider zoomed pass them on a neighing motorcycle, Anri let out an uncharacteristic yell.
"Celty-san!"
The black bike didn't stop; instead she just continued to ride into the night.
"Well, this is embarrassing," muttered Mikado, scratching his head. "I think everybody we know had probably seen us."
"They might as well…we were on that show earlier."
Mikado groaned. "Right. That show…"
He looked away from Anri, not knowing what to say next. Anri herself had something else in mind though. She thought it'd be okay to use her next year's worth of bravery for this. She gripped Mikado's hand tighter.
Mikado had certainly felt the hold and turned to look at Anri in askance.
"Mikado-kun…"
Mikado cocked his head to the side, signalling her that he was listening. Anri continued.
"It might be selfish of me to say this, but…" started Anri before she stopped in mid-sentence.
"But?" prompted Mikado.
"But…but I think Kida-kun wouldn't mind if we didn't wait for him, this time."
Mikado, at first, did not understand what she meant by that. But as he thought about it, it suddenly clicked in his mind. The show!
"Um, yeah," agreed Mikado as he also leaned a little on Anri's head. "Maybe he wouldn't mind."
It was getting late. As they made their way home, Anri fumbled with her camera, trying to see what their work for the day was. Mikado leaned in to look as well.
The day was well-spent; the date enjoyable. They were laughing as they watched all the recordings and shuffled through all the pictures taken.
"I told you there'd be a lot of bloopers."
Anri merely nodded. "And I would've never guessed you were actually Tanaka Tarou-kun. That was a surprise!"
"Yes! That came as a surprise to me as well! Who would've known?"
They continued talking until they reached Anri's home and she unlocked the door. When Anri had suddenly gasped out loud, Mikado asked whether she had left something back at the diner, to which the girl shook her head.
Anri pointed to the moon.
"Weren't we supposed to take a picture with the moon as a background for the remake?"
"You're right! I almost forgot."
They shuffled closer to fit in the picture. Mikado aimed the camera towards them and started the countdown. Once the picture was taken, Anri had quickly entered her home and closed the door behind her, while saying "Thank you for today!".
She leaned against the door as she blushed furiously.
On the outside, Mikado's blush rivals her, the camera still in his hands. Thinking that the event didn't really occur, that it was just his imagination, Mikado fumbled with the controls to look back at the picture taken.
Sure enough, the picture did not lie. With the moon as the background, the picture showed Anri kissing him on the cheek right when he finished the countdown and pressed the shutter button. He stood there in silence.
"Mikado-kun, are you still there?" A silent whisper sounded from the door. Mikado smiled and leaned his back against the door too.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm still here."
"Sorry about that. I…didn't know what came over me."
"It's okay."
"See you tomorrow?"
"Sure."
Both of them share a smile, their backs to each other with only a door separating them.
A/N : Aaaaaand…the one-shot's over! Sorry if they seem OOC! Sorry if the story's crap! Thanks for reading! :D