“Why are you following me?”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREwUVsbL8Q
Ever since Anna left the studio, Nao followed closely. They weren’t walking side by side, he was a few steps behind, but it still annoyed her. She used to have Takeshi or Kyoya trailing like lost puppies behind her but they were just friends. Nao was a completely different situation.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzLdGF7cYp
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFlqyqxoNB
“Didn’t your friend ask for my help?” He leaned forward, trying to keep the conversation animated. Nao figured it would tick her off even more if he were to prolong the whole ‘helping’ subject and he was having too much fun to let it go so easily. “What do I have to do, huh?” He continued taunting her.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEsLeuyesg
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEBNrqitNZ
By now, her left eye started to twitch. Behind, Nao could swear she was going to turn around and slap him. She had the courage to do that yet it seemed as if he would be taken off the hook easily.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIO5l7QTT8
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tkU3bu9T9
“Leave.” Her mumble was loud enough for him to hear. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1Jj1QTDJb
Anna didn’t want to make a scene; otherwise she would have already beaten him up. However, in times like those, brilliant ideas would rise to the surface. She smirked for a fraction of second before she turned to him, smiling mischievously. Nao didn’t know if he should actually follow her request and back off or endure what she had prepared for him. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFW7zJuoRTN
“If you’re so keen on helping me, then be it. Come.” Anna started her plot by leading him to his demise. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSkkxl0fiL
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELHCqLrlnH
The writer didn’t try to hide her intentions anymore. She turned around and led the way towards the closest subway. He trailed behind her, unsure and a little scared of what was going to happen next.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgrBdaipTt
“I think you’re kidding me…”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKKRd2mnc9
The metro station was engulfed by people, swirling around even though there was little space. He was planted near the door, his face glued to one of the bars. Not even the height could help Nao. Over different annoying noises and bad perfumes, he could feel a woman touching his butt. He tried to shake it off but it became obvious. He tried to move around so that he could firstly breathe and secondly, he really couldn’t stand that hand.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTzN7Uc3vI
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4g7v76WrPQ
“Have you seriously never been squished by oh so many strangers, with such fragrances around?” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN92WxUcHRY
She was lucky because she found a good place near the door even though when there was a sudden change in speed, everyone would crash into her. While watching him scrunching his face in disgust of everything, she was plotting.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaxzx5Hm1s
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHLw9GHau7
“I’m not from Tokyo.” He mumbled while trying hard to stay on his feet. She rolled her eyes at his answer. It didn’t make any sense because they met in Tokyo. “I’m originally from Osaka.”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSyId2Bfzq
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZkmAnL75b
“And? Does Osaka not have subways?” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F3kRzdnc7
In that very moment, Nao could feel the heat rising to his head. He wasn’t blushing but his ears got red from annoyance. If he didn’t know any better, he would have swore she wanted to take revenge on those 4 years, but she seemed to not care enough for that. He was intrigued. Maybe she just wanted him to suffer for her simple desire to provoke chaos around her.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLjfN3dIxm
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbiVFSiRPT
“You’re a true smart ass aren’t you?” He mumbled. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInd9m1RR6r
She smiled sarcastically but didn’t respond. Instead, since they had to get off at the next station, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him towards the door. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAuqCFjt6O
Unfortunately, the movements of the metro got him crashing on her instead. Her head hit the door and she wasn’t at all happy with the turn up.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5FZ5H7drN
“Where are we going?” Nao required information, mostly since he had a bad feeling about that day.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4bb08zBKa
She ignored him completely from the moment they got back on the sidewalk. They were somewhere in Shinjuku, heaven of every shopping maniac out there. He didn’t like it. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffXmGoCyEv
Patience was a virtue he seriously didn’t possess. Even more surprising was when Anna grabbed his hand and entered confidently one of the biggest and most sparkling Shopping Centers.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoScfP2Ex8
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyaGY98gy5
“Let’s start with fun things.” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtEyYgx0k5
Her eyes got so big and looked so innocent that he got scared. She wasn’t an innocent woman at all. Anna smiled cutely, showing two cute dimples on each side of her cheeks as she grabbed his hand and entered what was to become the most disastrous situation in his life.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRrBY7qvvL
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kG0f0bxug
“Wait,” He pulled her roughly back. He couldn’t believe her. “This is a lingerie store. I’m not supposed to enter.” She raised an eyebrow, trying hardly to look as innocent as a young teenage girl.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXjjX6HhVr
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25seG3V7mq
“Why not?” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLBNyL4ZU8
She shook his hand off, mostly because he had a tight grip on her arm and it started to hurt, and went right back in, leaving him behind. Sincerely, he looked like a pervert by just standing in front of such a place. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIMJExOnQN
Slowly, he got the courage, and with one hand covering half of his face, walked in. The path to where she was seemed to never end. Firstly, he crashed into a mannequin; that was the first level of his embarrassment;896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25ynQdzVld
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAoE8PzRKS
“Oh God.”
Next, while being perplexed, he hit a shelf of bras, ending with a few on his head; that was the second level. The climax of all of it was the moment he actually reached the place she was standing at. Anna grabbed a bra which had leopard print on it. She raised it to his eyes and tilted her head to one side.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zJ8J3H9u8
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAUBPWZb2e
“What?” He was already pride less so why not give up? She smiled and moved the bra in front of him.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jfG3Ue4wo
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlOndjSMqY
“What do you say? Would it look good on me?” His eyes widened and mouth opened a little. He couldn’t believe she asked him that. Not even his wife did! He considered himself a stranger to anything feminine, like sexy lingerie. He didn’t care since he slept with Ai just three times; she tried to get him entranced into such a mood but it didn’t work at all and often she would end up all annoyed and frustrated.
Nonetheless, he knew it was all part of a well thought plan she came up with in just a few minutes. He couldn’t lose to her. He couldn’t lose to himself either.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQwI9L0a2w
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVju8Uo3sD
“I don’t think it suits you.” The relaxed tone, the features which also seemed to be controlled and ignorant surprised both of them. She had a wicked mind and it started to slowly rub on him too. He was insane, he was in a creepy situation and everything he was thinking of was nothing. Nothing at all.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBozr3Z6Xj
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtowY58AgSk
“Actually,” He crossed his arms and leaned on the shelf on his right. “You don’t like it either do you?” She got caught off guard and the achievement of seeing her without a smart reply brought a smirk on his lips.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOflm9Crgj
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IT1aBIc5U
“What’s simple is beautiful.” She shrugged and grabbed another bra. The piece was different. It was a dark blue color and it didn’t have any print on it. “I guess I like this more.” She started to play around again. Encouraged by a fierce desire to embarrass him, she put the bra in front of her chest and started to move from side to side, like a child.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0KVt4oiRT
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkBEU1Ibl3
Somehow, the bright smile she had while playing in a lingerie store got Nao to loosen up a lot. He wasn’t ashamed of being there because she was there too. It all seemed to gravitate around her and he had no power. When she looked up to him, there was no evil glint anymore; instead, there was amusement. Next, she grabbed another imprinted bra. It looked slutty, in Anna’s point of view at least, but it seemed to give her a new idea. She placed it on Nao’s chest.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk8A45emMk
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3L5CoJ7cl4
“I think this suits you.” She said jokingly. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRi0s9NdN2z
The bra was black and had two stars on each side. Nao remained perplexed a little until she started to laugh. Her laughter was genuine and seemed to be nasal, like her voice. He never heard her laugh so brightly before. It made him laugh too and they looked like two troublemakers.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCWq19I0nm
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PqC2QEfpd
“Let’s get out of here.” She chuckled when she saw how his eyes started to sparkle and how enthusiastic he became suddenly. However, that didn’t change the fact that Anna bought the blue bra.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7ZzxNGmoC
“I hope you’re not going to take me to some other place like that.”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxy88obmcu
She stopped middle step. Her head titled again, it seemed she was doing that every time she was thinking about something. She had been struck by an idea and blinked896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiUWKT7ozM
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp19uEEJ4qi
“Let’s go buy condoms,” She started excitedly. Nao’s eyes got as big as two plates. It was so funny that Anna couldn’t control herself anymore. She started to laugh loudly. “I’m joking.” She said while trying to calm her breathing. He glared at her and snarled. It sounded funny and it amused Anna even more. His face was priceless and the effect she had on him was growing at an alarming pace.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95NFXlC05r
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFUhmPhWKz
“Why don’t we take a break?” He signed with his head towards the fast food. Anna bit her lip, having an inside battle. She could continue her evil plan or she could relax and actually enjoy.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYH7xei3GqA
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEWdrSCePZ
“But where would be the fun then?” She whispered. Nao didn’t hear it because he was already walking towards the food court. In the end, how bad could she embarrass him in such a place?896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfPNLptXUq
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2ymX9dE0j
He thought again. She could find many ways to get the people around them glue their eyes to them. In the first place, some teenagers recognized Anna from the attention her book got. Secondly, she grabbed two french fries and started to use them as fangs.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8XIfVmTUw
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7P7c6Tn2Yv
“Rawr, rawr,” She was definitely having fun in her own way. 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNs46mO5ED
On the other side, Nao didn’t know what to do first: laugh at her childish antics or be worried of her bipolarity. He chose none. Seeing how he wasn’t reacting anymore, she threw a french fry at him and scoffed.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3DgJjWTgA
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGA9oQhld6J
“You’re no fun at all. Got old already?” She smirked, knowing that he will get offended by her words, which actually happened.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjb7hfGMh0
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC9oNCUcMV
“Oi! I’m just 30 years old!” His narrowed eyes didn’t affect Anna in absolutely any way. “Did you write a scene like that in your book too?” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57OlBUzY9g
With just one sentence, which didn’t have any connection to their current situation, Anna frowned. She started to stare intently at her drink. Nao got taken back by the change and felt bad even if he knew he shouldn’t because he definitely didn’t offend her in any way.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllrgcV6ZHk
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiUw74fYO7
“Naoki-san,” He was actually waiting for a verbal blow. He knew she had the perfect mood for something like that. “Do you think my book lacks romance?” Alright, it wasn’t exactly what he expected.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOA981w6W1
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSheSX04Tm
“I-” She thought he might have not read the whole novel to begin with so she put the problem differently.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRg99Fxbik
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpuRIec4C8
“Do you think I lack romance?” His response was sincere and maybe it came too fast.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiBYnmhNJT
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnj39F3N0qB
“Yes.” She looked somewhere between annoyed and surprised. Her eyes got smaller and her mouth was set in a straight line. There was a neutral expression, over all. “Is this the problem Nakamura-san asked me to help you with?” She nodded slowly. He chuckled and got more comfortable on his chair. “Who told you that?” The atmosphere transited from childish to a little more serious between them.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsglRxTFA2
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgGsyPknf7
“Your father.” That surprised Nao even more and he started to laugh again, but not loud enough to make her sulk. “He said I don’t know what love is. That I don’t have any more the feelings from the moment I wrote that book. You are his son. What does he want me to do?”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQE9z3apFqQ
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRag7s8OGLX
“Hmm,” He placed his hands on the table and leaned on them, thinking. “You wrote it four years after we met, right?” Her eye started to twitch again. He sounded too proud.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJHmISHVvZ
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB4BwBtUTX
“Actually, I started it one year after we met. It just happened I forgot about it. My other books didn’t seem to be appreciated so one day I just remembered about it” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUdIHulCjy
Even though she spoke with ignorance, as it was just another topic, it affected him more than he would have imagined. Nao started to wonder if he was more caught up with her than she was with him. It started as an ideal type and in a matter of a few months it became more like an obsession.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTRdbw3da7
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJUvn4kvFq
“Then I guess you changed a lot. The book talks about fate and love. About two people who would do absolutely anything to meet. From what I read, the girl was the one believing they will have a happily ever after but you don’t seem to do.”896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaq20nDAC6E
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAAaypunI6
“That’s because I don’t.” Anna recognized. Something hurt in his chest. “I didn’t back then either. I knew it was just one day, one moment, one man. Why should I get all worked up for someone I will never meet again? I should just enjoy it to the fullest and when it’s over, get over it.” 896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbugjHIiMK5
Nao flinched. Suddenly he realized that if he wouldn’t have left in that morning Lovers in Tokyo wouldn’t have been written but they would have probably ended up together. It hurt. It was his fault.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHbifnXmYG
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7GuD8fNtI
Anna watched his body react to her words. She knew she touched something inside him, that something in his head clicked. She hurt him but that was nothing compared to the moment she woke up that morning, all alone. On that day, there were moments when she hoped her reasoning was wrong and he won’t become just an acquaintance in her memory. Anna knew the ending for their small escapade from the world, from themselves and from the truth but that didn’t mean she never hoped for something more. Instead, she learned a new lesson in life and moved on.896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajy8DfyBKt
896Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbn0pEwjwKl
“I think we should leave. There’s no reason to be here anymore.” She grabbed her purse and the two plates. While walking to the trash can she didn’t dare glance behind. Anna hurt him or at least his pride but she didn’t feel any amount of remorse for that. “He deserved it,” She mumbled to herself.
