Parfait Tic!Parfait Tic! Step 31 Margaret 18/01 Translated by Rita B. ~Opening page~ Fuuko's lying on top of Daiya in the tub with her lips very close to his chest. They're both blushing madly. Fuuko thinks, ::This could be a problem.:: Fuuko's grinning and has a party hat on her head, " What is this bath like?" "Milky bus!!" Daiya's still blushing, "Huh?!" Daiya, sweat-dropping, "You mean like those famous hot springs?" Then Fuuko's laughing hysterically and Daiya has lost all expression. ~Page 3~ Fuuko starts climbing out, blushing again, "Okie, it's time for me to get lost." "Sorry for disturbing you!" Daiya watches her, surprised, "Eh? So you're going home now?" Fuuko turns back, trying to smile, with her eyes closed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm going downstairs now!" Daiya moves to stand up, and Fuuko's eyes bulge out as she watches from the bathroom floor. Daiya, with small dotted eyes, "Ha...." ~Page 4~ Daiya jumps back into the tub, and tries to reassure a turned-to-stone Fuuko, "Ah ha ha ha.... I was just trying to catch the surf" [There's a little flashback which shows Daiya trying to beckon Fuuko to leave, but she's still is a statue with tears running down her face.] A hairdryer rumbles. Daiya is fully clothed now, and he asks Fuuko, who's settled on their living room floor drying her dress, "Are you thirsty?" Fuuko has a towel on her head and is blushing madly as she replies, "Yeah, I need to replenish my energy..." ~Page 6~ While Daiya is gone, Fuuko thinks to herself, ::I felt like I was suffocating there...:: ::He was a guy after all:: She's blushing as she remembers, and then Daiya's bare shoulders and neck invade Fuuko's mind as her eyes pop open. ~Page 7~ Fuuko's face becomes beet red as large clouds of steam blow out of her ears, she's thinking, ::I can't stop thinking about it!!!:: A hand gives Fuuko a canned drink. "Here" Fuuko, surprised, "Tha-thanks." Daiya, trying to laugh, "Oh your poor dryer." ~Page 8~ Daiya's sitting against a dresser as he says, "You know if I didn't return home when I was supposed to, my parents would usually ground me." Fuuko looks up, "Ah ha ha....and what would you be doing to deserve that?" Fuuko, forcing a smile, "Don't tell me you've been caught in the bathtub like that before?" No reponse from Daiya. Her eyes open, "Have you?" Daiya's got an evil look on his faces as he blushes, "Mwahahahahaha" Fuuko's aghast, "Kyahhh!" "Wa-" ~Page 9~ Fuuko's face is just red again as she screams at Daiya, "Wait just a minute!" "WHAT?" "You've done this before!!" Daiya's red from laughing hysterically, "Actually, for a while now, I've been thinking of doing something like that." "But I was too bashful to try." "It would be better if we were both naked." Fuuko's eyes become ghostly pale, "Na-na-na?!?!?" "STOP IT!" Fuuko, "But..but, in that milky white bath, you couldn't see anything that was na-naked." "Cha Daiya!" "There's no way you could see anything in there, anyway!" Fuuko whaps Daiya to emphasize her point. ~Page 10~ Daiya's cowering in the corner as he holds on to his wounded arm, "You know..." Daiya's blushing, "It's really hard for me to keep my composure right now." Fuuko looks with wide eyes, blushing. Daiya's eyes becomes beady, "What...?" ~Page 11~ Fuuko's face covered, "Ha ha... ha" Fuuko thinks, :: How do you make someone feel at ease?:: Fuuko then says, "Oh, yeah, the juice is getting warm!" Fuuko starts to open the can. Daiya looks up, "Wait, is that the one that I gave you, or is that mine?" Fuuko realized that she was opening Daiya canned juice and goes to give it to him. Daiya, "Oh, thanks." Daiya's hand touches Fuuko' as he takes the drink from her. ~Page 12~ CLANG! The juice can falls unceremoniously on Daiya's foot. Daiya's crying, holding his foot on the ground, and rolling around. Fuuko looks at him, "Are-are you alright?" Fuuko leans over Daiya to see is he's okay. And then she realizes how close they are and instantaneously runs across the room to slam into the opposite wall. ~Page 13~ Fuuko's back to drying her dress, she's thinking, ::I'd better hurry up and dry my clothes and get back. Our ceiling back home is damaged, too.:: ::Everything is messed up now.:: ::I can't trust Daiya since he's so cunning:: ::That was such an unexpected reaction:: In the meantime, Daiya has his face turned away and he's still blushing. CREAK! ~Page 14~ The door opens to reveal Ichi. He looks surprised to see Fuuko drying her dress, and Daiya sitting next to her. Fuuko gives a tense smile, "Oh...welcome home." ~Page 15~ Fuuko's talking, "How was work?" But Ichi doesn't notice. The only thing he sees is that Fuuko is wearing Daiya's shirt. Fuuko questions, "What is it?" Ichi's staring at her chest. Fuuko looks down, "Oh, oh! This!" She grabs the shirt she's wearing. Daiya intercedes, "Hey! Are you thinking something weird?" Ichi has his arms crossed now, with his faced blackened out as he towers over them, "Hmph!!" Daiya and Fuuko both sweatdrop, thinking, ::What's with that strange position?:: ~Page 16~ Ichi doesn't look to happy, and says, "You!" Fuuko points to herself, "Me?" Ichi says, "Why did you stop by here?" Fuuko's speechless, and Ichi's expression darkens. ~Page 17~ Fuuko, "Um..." Daiya, nervous and outraged, "You...what are you trying to say?" Ichi looks away, "Well, I'm just wondering why you two are so self-conscious and jittery." "Look at that woman." Fuuko's eyebrows come together, "That's mean! What do you mean 'that woman'?" Daiya, getting up, "Hey!" Ichi just pushes him aside as he addresses Fuuko, "So why did you come here?" ~Page 18~ Ichi addresses Fuuko, "In an apartment full of men, what is a woman like you doing all alone?" "It's hard to praise such deviant behaviour." (Ichi said that really coldly to her.) ~Page 19~ Daiya says, "HEY!" Fuuko looks very upset as her cheeks redden. She grabs her dress and runs out, "I'm leaving!" Daiya looks at her, "Fuu-chan!" He turns around, "ICHI?!" ~Page 20~ Ichi's cowering in the corner, sighing, "Haaaaa." Daiya reaches his hand out, looking worried, "You..." Ichi snaps back, causing Daiya to jump, "WHAT?" The manga artist sees Fuuko running by, "Fuuko, what's the hurry?" Fuuko runs and slams her door shut. ~Page 21~ Fuuko, slides down to the ground as she remembers Ichi's words, ::"It's hard to praise such lewd behavior.":: ~Page 22~ Fuuko greets her restaurant manager, "Good afternoon." The manager turns around (with Ichi standing behind her), "Oh, thanks for coming in!" Fuuko thinks, ::Ichi:: Fuuko gives a tense smile, "I'll go ch-ch-change!" The manager turns around, "Well, Ichi-kun you can have the rest of the day off." Ichi replies, "Okay." Fuuko's surprised, ::I'm glad he's leaving:: ~Page 23~ There's absolute silence in the room as Ichi and Fuuko change on opposite sides of the lockers. Ichi slams his locker shut as Fuuko cringes. DOKI, DOKI, DOKI, DOKI Ichi pops out from behind the lockers, "Hey...um..." Fuuko screams and jumps 20 feet, "Uwaaa!!!" She huffs while a chibi Ichi looks at her in silence. ~Page 24~ Ichi turns away, "Jeez, I can't believe your attitude." Fuuko, outraged, "You can't?" "Aren't you forgetting? You're the one with the bad attitude!" Ichi furrows his eyesbrows, "I think you're mistaken about me." Fuuko's shocked. Ichi's fingers have curled into a fist, and Fuuko remembers him saying, ::"What's a woman like you doing all alone in a place full of men?":: Ichi continues, "But you certainly thought my way of thinking was wrong!" ~Page 25~ Fuuko thinks of Ichi saying how he can't accept her lewd behavior, "But!" "But guys like you can think whatever you want when another guy is involved, right?" Fuuko's near tears now and Ichi looks like he's going to cry, too. ~Page 26~ Ichi's face is red, as he says over his shoulder, "I know you did something bad." He remembers her wearing Daiya's shirt. He continues, "Because you..." ~Page 27~ Fuuko watches Ichi, stunned as he says with his back facing towards her, "Because you were wearing his clothes." ~to be continued in Step 32~ [Edited by Shirl]