Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Forty-First String

A/N: Would you guys like to read an Alice In Borderland high school AU? Or maybe college AU? Or a combination of both?

---

Staring at the engagement party invitation, Kurenai was deep in thought.

Sasaki Hina and Miyamoto Kyou were engaged to be married, and like every other socialite in their circle, they were hosting an engagement party to announce to everyone.

To be honest, Kurenai never thought they would be getting married. Hina was not the type to be dating someone with marriage in mind. She was more the type to date someone just to spite someone else. Hence, why she was in a relationship with Kurenai's ex-boyfriend.

That obviously did not work, so perhaps this engagement was another ploy to get at Kurenai.

Of course, she had the option of not going.

Though she could already see the headlines if she did not.

Her relationship with Kyou was not a secret, they were plastered all over newspapers and magazines for about two weeks after all. If she were to choose not to attend this party, she would be painted as a petty, scorned woman by the media. Not that Kurenai cared much for her image, but it irritated her to know that it would delight Hina if that were to happen.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and Chishiya walked into the study, going up to her desk and crouched by her chair, putting his head on her lap.

Kurenai put the invitation away, playing with his blonde hair instead. The couple was quiet for quite a few minutes before switching positions with Chishiya in the chair and Kurenai sitting on his lap, her head nesting in the crook of his neck.

Why would she be bothered by the fact that Hina was getting engaged to her ex-boyfriend when she had the perfect man right here?

When their relationship was made public, Chishiya was compared to her ex-boyfriends but mainly Kyou by the tabloids. People would always be curious about other people's businesses, and everyone was itching to know what was it about this man that captured the heart of a billionaire's daughter.

But they were particularly shallow in their comparisons.

Chishiya was deemed as the lower choice of the two, and it was implied that Kurenai was not wise to give up on Kyou. A supermodel versus a doctor fresh out of med school, anyone in their right mind would know who to choose apparently. He was shorter, and not as good looking, nor did he have the standing that Kyou did in society.

Not that any of those things mattered to Kurenai. Everything they mentioned in that article was superficial. They never talked about the fact that Chishiya was ten times smarter than Kyou was. Or the fact that he was the only person who could genuinely bring a smile to her face. Or how with just one look, he understood completely what was on her mind.

She could only see Chishiya in her eyes, and he was the only person she could see herself with in the future. That was all that mattered.

"I love you, Shuntarou."

"That came out of nowhere."

"Can't I say I love you whenever?"

"Of course you can."

The couple knew very well that they loved each other, but they were not ones to throw those three words around casually. Their love language was more acts of services and physical touches where they would do little things for each other, and just hold each other.

Which was why when Kurenai suddenly said those three words, Chishiya knew something had to be on her mind.

That was when he saw the card on the table.

He reached for the card and read what was written inside. So Hina and Kyou were getting married, that was what prompted Kurenai to say those three words.

Chishiya had only met them once, but it was a memorable meeting. Especially what he did with Kurenai that night. He got a little jealous about the fact that Kyou was her special someone, even though they had yet to meet back then. Then he got a little too carried away in bed, making sure that Kurenai knew she was his now.

"Are you upset that your precious ex-boyfriend's getting married to your friend?"

"First of all, she is not my friend," Kurenai frowned. He knew that she and Hina did not get along, and he knew very well that she hated whenever Hina was referred to as her friend. Chishiya was provoking her purposely. "And secondly, Kyou is not precious to me. You are."

She leaned in, kissing him on the lips several times, and Chishiya smiled. She was precious to him too.

"Last but not least, I'm not upset that they are getting married. I'm upset at the fact that I have to attend this stupid party, or I'll become the petty woman the next day in headlines."

He never understood the laws of upper class society and between socialites, nor did Chishiya want to understand. He knew, however, that Kurenai was not superficial like all those in her social class. She never cared much about her status in society, nor how others viewed her. Not that she would start a fight in the middle of a restaurant. She simply behaved the way Kurenai would.

What she cared about, however, was being looked down upon. Especially by someone like Hina.

"So you'll be attending?"

"I don't want to," Kurenai sighed. "The reporters will be all over me too."

"What if I went with you?"

--

Hina had spent every waking hour making sure that this engagement party was to perfection for the past month. She wanted it to be perfect not because it was important to her family, nor was it to impress anyone. She wanted it to be perfect because she wanted to shove it in Kurenai's face that she was getting married first, to someone whom she used to date no less.

On the day of the party, she felt a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

Kurenai never officially responded to the invitation, but Hina made sure that her planner kept a space for her.

When guests started arriving, she told her planner to come to her as soon as Kurenai arrived but after an hour, there was still no sign of the Chuya woman. Now, Hina was feeling more anxious than she was excited.

If Kurenai did not show up, Hina would have won but rather unspectacularly. She wanted to be able to throw this all in her face and watch her reaction real time.

"Hina, what's the hold up?" Kyou asked, finally getting hold of her. "Everyone's waiting for the announcement. And guests are getting hungry too."

"She's not here yet."

"Who? Are you talking about Kurenai? Did you really invite her?"

"Why can't I invite her?" Hina frowned. She hated the way he would say Kurenai's name, like he still had feelings for her. "Don't you want to let her know that you are getting married to me? Let her know that you found someone better."

Kyou let out a deep sigh, composing himself.

Although he planned on getting married one day, Kyou was shocked when Hina suddenly said one day that they were getting married. She then went ahead with planning an engagement party, and even told him how to propose to her. It was not until a week before the party did he finally find out that all this effort was just to spite Kurenai.

"Miss Sasaki, Miss Chuya has just arrived." Running up to Hina, the planner was reporting as she was told to.

"Now we can start," she said.

From where she stood on the stage platform, Hina could see the entrance to the banquet hall perfectly and smirked to herself when she spotted Kurenai walking in with her boyfriend.

Witness my victory, Kurenai. Watch me become happier than you will ever be.