The Plan (Nisekoi Fanfiction)

Part Thirteen - A Small Hope

Small and cramped.

The room that Maiko Shu and his comrades had made was not much more than a cubical enclosure. Although simple, the room had been meticulously sanded down to ensure that there were no rough spots to hurt yourself with. In addition, ventilation was provided through thin slices in the walls and ceiling, through which both light and air filtered through.

Small and cramped, but perhaps also cozy in a way. However, for Ichijou Raku and Onodera Kosaki, it was like standing on a balance beam over a pool of lava.

"S-Sorry Onodera!" said Raku for the fifth time as his leg involuntarily brushed against Kosaki's.

"N-No. I-It's my fault!" said Kosaki, shifting her leg to accommodate Raku. Her foot touched the inside of Raku's thigh.

"Hiii!"

"E-Eh!? Ichijou-kun!? What's wrong?"

"Ah...no...it's nothing..." said Raku, trying to calm himself down. What was that!? It wasn't like he had the inside of his thigh touched regularly, but his body had reacted more violently than he had expected. A shiver had run through his whole body and an embarrassing voice had escaped from his mouth. Raku tried to move his thigh away from Kosaki's foot.

"KYAH!"

"O-Onodera!? What's wrong!? Did I hurt you?"

"N-No...that's..." said Kosaki, her face glowing so red that she was sure that Raku could see it in the darkness. She covered her face and tried shift her body away. Raku's ankle had pushed up inside her skirt.

This is bad...thought Raku as their limbs continued to tangle together. The space was just large enough that they could sit with their backs to the wall; however, this left no space for their legs even when they kept them bent. Every little movement had Raku's legs touch a little more of Kosaki's legs. Raku felt like he was going to pass out from the battle raging inside his head. Pure bliss at feeling Kosaki's soft skin in brief pecks; insane embarrassment as Kosaki unknowingly inched into Raku's most sensitive areas; immeasurable guilt at putting Kosaki in such a shameful position.

Raku wanted to curse Shu for placing them in this situation, but at the same time, his heart was ready to bow down in gratitude to the masterful strategian.

Damn you, Shu!

Why do you do this to me!? I mean, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Kosaki was having an equally intense battle of emotions. At her core, Kosaki was a wholesome, soft-natured, young girl. There were those that referred to her as a "healing angel," an existence that warmed the soul and calmed people's weariness. However, it wasn't like Kosaki was a saint; like others her age, lewd thoughts crossed her mind. Naughty, even scandalous dreams and fantasies, urges that sometimes made her uncharacteristically aggressive in her actions; Onodera Kosaki had all the feelings of a girl in love, including those that weren't so innocent.

As much as Kosaki sometimes wanted to act on these emotions, her common sense held her back. She had a sense of dignity as a woman, but at the same time, she also did not feel prepared to take such daring steps. After all, she was still just a high school student. She hadn't even had her first kiss yet. Holding hands, little hugs, these gestures of affection had been chanced upon her in accidents and coincidences.

It wasn't that Kosaki didn't want to do those kinds of things. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of them. However, she did not have the courage to act on them. She did not want to be seen in that light by Ichijou Raku, such a shameless, unfiltered part of her self exposed so readily. Even though she loved Raku, even though she desperately wanted to convey her feelings to him, even she could not do something like stand in front of Raku naked right at this moment. In a similar fashion, Onodera Kosaki could not expose her bare heart to him.