Setting and all non-original characters are property of Kosuke Fujishima
NOTE: This is the third (and final) part of a story arc that includes Ah! I'm Going to Sneeze! and Ah! We Really Screwed Up!. So if you haven't read those yet, please go check them out first!
"You know…I might be feeling better but… if you wanted to… we could still… maybe… experiment a little…?" Asakawa saw that she was rolling a small vial of white powder between her fingers. He didn't recognize it at first, but was hit with a wave of profound embarrassment once it registered what she was holding.
"Where… uh… where did you get that?" He asked, smiling nervously.
"Oh… I found it between the cushions of the couch. I assume it fell out of your jacket pocket last night. Is this… what I… think it is?"
"Ha-ha… yeah… uh… it is, but… well… you see… uh… someone gave me that a long time ago…. I mean I didn't even know I still… please don't think…."
"Shhhhhhh…." She put her index finger on his mouth as took him by the hand and slowly led him inside, eager to pick up where they'd left off.
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He was lying on his back, looking up with an almost silly anticipation.
She was on her knees, straddling his waist, looking down at him with a nervous smile on her face. Although this moment had been a long, awkward and exasperating time in coming, she could still hardly believe it had arrived.
He kept looking up at her, content to watch as events unfolded. He could feel Hasegawa’s weight on him, even though she felt as light as feather. They looked at each other a moment longer before that mischievous look returned to Hasegawa’s eyes. A million thoughts raced through her head as she raised the small vial to her nose and began to remove the stopper.
Where was this reckless abandon coming from? When had she gotten so bold? She was overwhelmed by it, but decided to continue to embrace it. What would he do? How would he react? What would the contents of this vial do to her? Would it feel like the other day? That was awful, but she thought she could deal with it, since she thought she knew what it would do to him. What if they…? What would that feel like? She pulled the stopper and took the slightest sniff of the vial’s contents.
Nothing. She laughed nervously, as did he.
“Be careful.” He smiled.
“Uh-huh.”
She inhaled a little deeper. She could feel a slight tingling in her nose, but nowhere near how she felt the other day, and definitely not enough to make her sneeze. He smiled a little wider as he looked at her.
A few more sniffs and not much was happening. Anticipation was quickly turning into frustration. And that was leading to fear: Was this frustrating to him as well? He didn’t seem to mind. He kept smiling; but there was anticipation in that smile. What if this didn’t work? Part of what motivated her to do this was that she didn’t really know what she doing when it came to “making out.” She never really had a boyfriend, and thus had practically no experience in the matter. She thought this might make things go more smoothly, but now things weren’t going smoothly at all.
She put her finger over the neck of the vial to plug the hole and shook it gently. “Yeah, this’ll work for sure!” she thought. When she sniffed it this time there was a fairly intense reaction. Her nose burned slightly, but really started to tickle rather strongly. It still didn’t feel like the other day, but she knew that it was only a matter of time. She put the vial down on the nightstand, to avoid spilling it, and started to breathe deeply through her nose.
“That’s it!” she thought. It was fanning the coals of a fire. The glowing ember would get brighter and brighter until finally erupting in flame. She could visualize the same thing happening in her nose. She took a very deep breath, let it out and then felt the fire finally ignite.
Her eyes, which had started to tear a little, narrowed as her nose quivered slightly. She opened her mouth in kind of upside-down smile, drawing her lower lip down and showing the tops of her teeth as she inhaled sharply.
“hitch-*squeak*”
She had not intended to cover up, but did so anyway out of habit. All she could think was: “I did it! It worked!” She lowered her hands so that she could see his reaction. She was somewhat disappointed that he didn’t seem to react at all. He kept looking up at her with that same, silly grin. His smile may have widened a little, but nothing really happened. She didn’t know what to expect, she probably would have peed herself in fright if one sneeze had turned him into a ravaging animal, but she had hoped for something. He just kept looking at her.
Figuring the “embers” needed a little more “fanning” and feeling both a little bit self-conscious and a little bit impatient; she grabbed the vial from the nightstand, covered the top again and shook it violently.
Anticipating what she was about to do, Asakawa tried to caution her, “Be careful now, don’t inhale too much…” But it was too late.
Hasegawa put the vial right up to her nose and inhaled fiercely, as if it was her intention to snort up the entire contents. She realized her mistake before she was even done making it. The tickle in her nose was gone, replaced with a painfully intense burning as the fiery particles ripped into the delicate tissues inside her nose and sinuses, irritating them to a torturous degree. The pain reached up into her eyes, which now welled up like faucets.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” She grabbed at her nose, unable to do anything about the blinding pain within. She could feel the irritation starting to creep down her throat. “Oh my god! Ow! Oh… it burns!”
“Water, get some water! Quickly!” Asakawa didn’t really know if that would help, but he figured it couldn’t hurt. As Hasegawa ran to the bathroom, he picked up the discarded and now empty vial from the floor and read the label: Ingredients: Finely ground white pepper. He went over to see if there was anything he could do for her.
She was over the sink, splashing water on her face, trying to get some into her nose. At the same time she was blowing her nose, trying to rid herself of the irritants she had inhaled. He felt like such a heel. He had never told anyone about his fetish before and now because he had told her, she may have really hurt herself. That she was in pain was more than he could bear, but there was nothing he could really do. He wondered what was he supposed to do? Stand here and watch? Go back to the bed? Leave? Apologize? He wished he had the power to just make her stop hurting. He was sure she would be furious with him. He braced himself for the worst and started to apologize.
“Hasa….” but that was as far as got before she interrupted him.
She turned to face him. She looked awful; almost worse than she did the day before. But even thought her face and hair were soaked and her nose and eyes were red and puffy, she didn’t seem angry. It seemed more like she was the one on the verge of tears
“Yuichi… *sniff* I’m so sorry!”
Now he really felt horrible. She’s the one who gets hurt trying to please him, and now she ends up apologizing. He never felt so low. “No Hasegawa. I’m sorry. You… you didn’t have to do that. I… I really shouldn’t have let you. I’m…so sorry.” By the time he finished, he could barely look at her.
Each looking up, they stared at each other for a moment before Hasegawa finally broke down and started to cry. She fell into his arms, and he held her tightly. He kept whispering that he was sorry, and all she could do was shake her head and try to stop crying. Things had really not worked out at all for either of them. He felt horrible about having caused her pain, and she felt as if this was the second time that a potential make-out session was ruined by her inadequacy. They shared the embrace for several minutes before he suggested that maybe he should go.
“*sniff* Hm-mmm. *sniff*” was all she could manage. As he left, she wondered if he’d ever come back. This was the second time things had ended badly. Would there even be a third?
The next time they met up was at the auto-club meeting after class. The turnout was pretty good that day. Keichi Morisato and Belldandy were both there and so was Asako Watanabe, this year’s other new recruit. Hasegawa had to admit she didn’t care for Asako that much. It wasn’t just that Asako was so much prettier than her – she had become accustomed to thinking of everyone else as being in a league well above her own; but she had noticed that Asako was not particularly friendly. She didn’t seem to know her way around engines, and yet every time Hasegawa had tried to talk to her she’d get the cold shoulder; only to see her talking to one of the upper classmen about the very same thing only a minute later. But she didn’t seem too interested in either Keichi or Yuichi, so Hasegawa figured that, even if she’s wasn’t very friendly, she’s wasn’t someone she really needed to concern herself with one way or the other. But when she joined the club meeting this day, she said something that made Hasegawa seriously reconsider that judgment:
“*sniff* Oh man! *sniff* My allergies are really bothering me today!”
Waves of emotion washed over Hasegawa. Fear. Anger. Jealousy. Nervousness. A million questions flooded her mind: Did Asakawa hear that? What if she started sneezing? What if he saw that? Asako is so much prettier than me, and she has allergies?! Would she steal him away from her? Asako could have anyone she wanted, and yet Yuichi was the only one that Hasegawa had ever come close to having! Would he change his mind? Would he drop the mousy, insecure, spaz in favor of the beautiful and potentially sneezy model-girl? Why did this have to happen? Why did their only two dates so far have to end so badly? Was she about to lose the only guy that ever showed any interest in her?
In reality she needn’t have worried so much. Yuichi had barely noticed Asako, and she really wasn’t his type. He would concede that she was attractive, but only in a detached, objective sort of way. As if to say, “Yes, I’m sure that there are a lot of men that find her very attractive;” not in a way that suggested the least bit of interest on his part. And he had seen how she treated people like Morisato and Hasegawa, and he had no patience for anyone could think of other people as being beneath them. To his mind’s eye, Asako was not really that attractive at all. And while he had heard her announcement, his only thought was “bothering? Yeah, right.” And he thought of Hasegawa a few days earlier and the night before and thought, “THAT’S being bothered. Don’t be such a drama queen!”
Hasegawa kept sending nervous glances his way, but she needn’t have worried so much. Asakawa just faced front, listening to the briefing being given by president Tamiya. He still felt too awkward about what had happened to return Hasegawa’s glance, but hadn’t given Asako, or her announcement, a second thought. About halfway through the meeting Hasegawa glanced over at Asako and was mortified by what she saw.
Asako had a look on her face that seemed to simultaneously suggest both concentration and vacancy. He eyes seemed to gloss over, but her brow was furrowed. She started to lightly wave her hand in front of her face. “Here it comes.” Hasegawa thought to herself, now feeling thoroughly depressed.
“HaahAAAHHH-HAH-SHOOO-OOO!” Despite her delicate, feminine appearance, her sneeze came out as a near glass-shattering scream. “Oh! Excuse me!”
Although it was dramatic, Asako had sneezed only one time in the entire hour-long club meeting. Asakawa continued to think “That’s what she calls being bothered? Pul-lease!” And although she was blessed simultaneously by half a dozen club members, Hasegawa did manage to notice that Asakawa was not among them. Although she couldn’t figure out if he was merely putting on a show for her benefit or if it really meant he wasn’t interested, she realized that either way meant that they were still together. That he still cared. That this opportunity hadn’t slipped away from her. The boldness that had possessed her intermittently since they’d met made yet another a comeback. She resolved to talk to him after the meeting and, no matter what happened, she wouldn’t give up until she knew where they stood.
Once the meeting closed and everyone started to leave, Hasegawa said goodbye to Morisato and Belldandy, excused herself after bumping into Asako, and sought out Asakawa.
“Yuichi? Do you have a minute? Can we go somewhere and… talk?”
He looked nervous, as if he was the one who might be getting the bad news. “Um… sure.” He followed her to a fairly deserted part of the campus, where they sat on a park bench.
“You think she’s pretty… don’t you?” Hasegawa had not planned on starting the conversation that way, but at that moment Asako was foremost in her mind. His response made her think he wasn’t listening.
“Well… yeah, I guess, but I really only want to be with you. And besides she seems happy with Morisato…”
“Huh? Wha... Who… do you think I’m talking about?”
“Huh? I thought you meant Belldandy. I mean everyone think she’s really beautiful, right? I’m not saying I’m blind or anything, but I’ve really never considered her. I’m a little surprised you brought her up…”
“Not Belldandy! I’m talking about Asako!” Hasegawa wasn’t sure if he was teasing her, or hiding something. Why would he bring up Belldandy?
“Asako? Hmmm. I don’t really want to say anything bad about someone I don’t really know, but… No. Not really. Not my type.”
“But she… well, she said she had… allergies.”
Yuichi was about to nod in agreement, rather nonchalantly, when he suddenly realized what had been bothering her. “And you think that makes a difference?”
“Well… I…”
“Sora… Asako is not a nice person at all! I’ve seen how she treats you and Morisato-senpai and some of the other people in the classes we have together. She’s conceited and self-centered and… Why on earth do you think I’d like her?!”
“Well, I… oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know… Please don’t…” The momentary boldness she had felt seemed to have left her. Even after everything they had talked about, she still managed to completely misread the situation. She started to apologize again, when he interrupted her.
“It’s OK, Hasegawa. I guess I never really did a very good job of explaining it. I’ve never told anyone else about it, so… I guess I really don’t know how I should explain it. The fact that someone sneezes does not make them attractive to me. After all, everyone sneezes. I’m attracted by… I don’t know… I just like what I like… I like… people like… you.” That sounded a lot lamer out loud than it had in his head, and he looked away momentarily, slightly embarrassed.
“Sora… What happened last night… Well… I was interested in seeing you sneeze mainly because I’m so interested in you. I don’t know how to explain it… I guess I’d say that it enhances the feelings that are already there. It’s like someone having big…” But he cut off that explanation, not only considering it far too vulgar but also sure that Hasegawa would take it the wrong way. “It’s like… well OK, if you’ll pardon the rudeness, it’s like seeing someone naked. If it’s someone you like, then it’s really exciting. But if it’s someone you don’t, well it’s… not. I guess.”
“So if Asako Watanabe came to class naked you expect to believe that you wouldn’t even look at her?” Hasegawa asked cynically.
Yuichi laughed at the thought of it. “Well, of course I’d LOOK. I’d LOOK even if Tamiya & Otaki-senpai came to class naked. And while I seriously hope that never happens… the fact of my looking would amount to about the same thing.” A sly, lopsided grin crept onto his face. “I can definitely think of a certain someone that I’d much rather see come to class wearing nothing but their glasses…”
That made Hasegawa blush profusely. “Stop that, you’re embarrassing me!” But even through her nervous laughter, she held his hand as if to say that she understood that all was OK again between them. She leaned her head on shoulder and they stayed that way for several minutes before he broke the silence.
“I… uh… get the impression that you don’t feel too good about how things have gone so far in our relationship.” Just hearing him say “our relationship” filled Hasegawa with a warm, cozy and yet almost completely unfamiliar feeling. “So why don’t we try for a fresh start. Why don’t we try the old standard: Dinner and a movie? I think I can manage that without screwing anything up.”
“Wait… You… you think you’re the one who screwed everything up?” Hasegawa asked, clearly surprised by what he’d just said.
“Well… to be honest I kind of hoped you didn't think everything had been screwed up, but… yeah. I can’t shake the feeling that everything that happened to you… and us… is all my fault.”
Hasegawa was stunned by this revelation. “Would it surprise you know that I thought the same thing?” quickly adding, “I mean… that I was the one screwing up? …not you.”
He looked at her, and laughed out loud. Then they were laughing together, both feeling a sense of relief. “OK… how about this: Fresh start. Forget about everything that’s happened so far, and just go out on a normal, good old-fashioned, first-date?”
“That sounds like a very good idea.”
“OK. This Satuday? Dinner? Movie?”
“I’d like that.” She answered, feeling for the first time in her life as though everything was going to be all right.
“*sniff* Oh man! *sniff* My allergies are really bothering me today!”
Waves of emotion washed over Hasegawa. Fear. Anger. Jealousy. Nervousness. A million questions flooded her mind: Did Asakawa hear that? What if she started sneezing? What if he saw that? Asako is so much prettier than me, and she has allergies?! Would she steal him away from her? Asako could have anyone she wanted, and yet Yuichi was the only one that Hasegawa had ever come close to having! Would he change his mind? Would he drop the mousy, insecure, spaz in favor of the beautiful and potentially sneezy model-girl? Why did this have to happen? Why did their only two dates so far have to end so badly? Was she about to lose the only guy that ever showed any interest in her?
In reality she needn’t have worried so much. Yuichi had barely noticed Asako, and she really wasn’t his type. He would concede that she was attractive, but only in a detached, objective sort of way. As if to say, “Yes, I’m sure that there are a lot of men that find her very attractive;” not in a way that suggested the least bit of interest on his part. And he had seen how she treated people like Morisato and Hasegawa, and he had no patience for anyone could think of other people as being beneath them. To his mind’s eye, Asako was not really that attractive at all. And while he had heard her announcement, his only thought was “bothering? Yeah, right.” And he thought of Hasegawa a few days earlier and the night before and thought, “THAT’S being bothered. Don’t be such a drama queen!”
Hasegawa kept sending nervous glances his way, but she needn’t have worried so much. Asakawa just faced front, listening to the briefing being given by president Tamiya. He still felt too awkward about what had happened to return Hasegawa’s glance, but hadn’t given Asako, or her announcement, a second thought. About halfway through the meeting Hasegawa glanced over at Asako and was mortified by what she saw.
Asako had a look on her face that seemed to simultaneously suggest both concentration and vacancy. He eyes seemed to gloss over, but her brow was furrowed. She started to lightly wave her hand in front of her face. “Here it comes.” Hasegawa thought to herself, now feeling thoroughly depressed.
“HaahAAAHHH-HAH-SHOOO-OOO!” Despite her delicate, feminine appearance, her sneeze came out as a near glass-shattering scream. “Oh! Excuse me!”
Although it was dramatic, Asako had sneezed only one time in the entire hour-long club meeting. Asakawa continued to think “That’s what she calls being bothered? Pul-lease!” And although she was blessed simultaneously by half a dozen club members, Hasegawa did manage to notice that Asakawa was not among them. Although she couldn’t figure out if he was merely putting on a show for her benefit or if it really meant he wasn’t interested, she realized that either way meant that they were still together. That he still cared. That this opportunity hadn’t slipped away from her. The boldness that had possessed her intermittently since they’d met made yet another a comeback. She resolved to talk to him after the meeting and, no matter what happened, she wouldn’t give up until she knew where they stood.
Once the meeting closed and everyone started to leave, Hasegawa said goodbye to Morisato and Belldandy, excused herself after bumping into Asako, and sought out Asakawa.
“Yuichi? Do you have a minute? Can we go somewhere and… talk?”
He looked nervous, as if he was the one who might be getting the bad news. “Um… sure.” He followed her to a fairly deserted part of the campus, where they sat on a park bench.
“You think she’s pretty… don’t you?” Hasegawa had not planned on starting the conversation that way, but at that moment Asako was foremost in her mind. His response made her think he wasn’t listening.
“Well… yeah, I guess, but I really only want to be with you. And besides she seems happy with Morisato…”
“Huh? Wha... Who… do you think I’m talking about?”
“Huh? I thought you meant Belldandy. I mean everyone think she’s really beautiful, right? I’m not saying I’m blind or anything, but I’ve really never considered her. I’m a little surprised you brought her up…”
“Not Belldandy! I’m talking about Asako!” Hasegawa wasn’t sure if he was teasing her, or hiding something. Why would he bring up Belldandy?
“Asako? Hmmm. I don’t really want to say anything bad about someone I don’t really know, but… No. Not really. Not my type.”
“But she… well, she said she had… allergies.”
Yuichi was about to nod in agreement, rather nonchalantly, when he suddenly realized what had been bothering her. “And you think that makes a difference?”
“Well… I…”
“Sora… Asako is not a nice person at all! I’ve seen how she treats you and Morisato-senpai and some of the other people in the classes we have together. She’s conceited and self-centered and… Why on earth do you think I’d like her?!”
“Well, I… oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know… Please don’t…” The momentary boldness she had felt seemed to have left her. Even after everything they had talked about, she still managed to completely misread the situation. She started to apologize again, when he interrupted her.
“It’s OK, Hasegawa. I guess I never really did a very good job of explaining it. I’ve never told anyone else about it, so… I guess I really don’t know how I should explain it. The fact that someone sneezes does not make them attractive to me. After all, everyone sneezes. I’m attracted by… I don’t know… I just like what I like… I like… people like… you.” That sounded a lot lamer out loud than it had in his head, and he looked away momentarily, slightly embarrassed.
“Sora… What happened last night… Well… I was interested in seeing you sneeze mainly because I’m so interested in you. I don’t know how to explain it… I guess I’d say that it enhances the feelings that are already there. It’s like someone having big…” But he cut off that explanation, not only considering it far too vulgar but also sure that Hasegawa would take it the wrong way. “It’s like… well OK, if you’ll pardon the rudeness, it’s like seeing someone naked. If it’s someone you like, then it’s really exciting. But if it’s someone you don’t, well it’s… not. I guess.”
“So if Asako Watanabe came to class naked you expect to believe that you wouldn’t even look at her?” Hasegawa asked cynically.
Yuichi laughed at the thought of it. “Well, of course I’d LOOK. I’d LOOK even if Tamiya & Otaki-senpai came to class naked. And while I seriously hope that never happens… the fact of my looking would amount to about the same thing.” A sly, lopsided grin crept onto his face. “I can definitely think of a certain someone that I’d much rather see come to class wearing nothing but their glasses…”
That made Hasegawa blush profusely. “Stop that, you’re embarrassing me!” But even through her nervous laughter, she held his hand as if to say that she understood that all was OK again between them. She leaned her head on shoulder and they stayed that way for several minutes before he broke the silence.
“I… uh… get the impression that you don’t feel too good about how things have gone so far in our relationship.” Just hearing him say “our relationship” filled Hasegawa with a warm, cozy and yet almost completely unfamiliar feeling. “So why don’t we try for a fresh start. Why don’t we try the old standard: Dinner and a movie? I think I can manage that without screwing anything up.”
“Wait… You… you think you’re the one who screwed everything up?” Hasegawa asked, clearly surprised by what he’d just said.
“Well… to be honest I kind of hoped you didn't think everything had been screwed up, but… yeah. I can’t shake the feeling that everything that happened to you… and us… is all my fault.”
Hasegawa was stunned by this revelation. “Would it surprise you know that I thought the same thing?” quickly adding, “I mean… that I was the one screwing up? …not you.”
He looked at her, and laughed out loud. Then they were laughing together, both feeling a sense of relief. “OK… how about this: Fresh start. Forget about everything that’s happened so far, and just go out on a normal, good old-fashioned, first-date?”
“That sounds like a very good idea.”
“OK. This Satuday? Dinner? Movie?”
“I’d like that.” She answered, feeling for the first time in her life as though everything was going to be all right.
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