#silent-spectator

12 = Tickle fight

Surprisingly enough, it hadn't taken Akane long to adjust to his presence. When Shizuo had opened the door to his apartment and let the little princess in, the very last person on her mind had been Yuuhei Hanejima. Yet there he was, sitting on the couch like he possessed every right to be. Shizuo mentioned a few errands to run before he could take Akane out, so he placed her on the cushions beside his little brother and left them alone.

Immediately silence enveloped them. Akane was a fidgeting ball of nerves, bubbling over with questions she was too afraid to ask. Yuuhei hardly seemed interested. In fact, the little princess worried she was annoying him. She scooted a bit closer and tugged on his sleeve for attention.

"H-Hanejima-sensei-" Akane began, taking a moment to swallow her fear. She trembled and her face started to lose its color. "I-I just wanted to t-tell you that I'm- er- um-!" 

The famous idol watched her wordlessly. Then he leaned closer to her, drawing their eye levels together. Akane squeaked, blushing under his scrutiny. 

Then all of a sudden, he hooked his finger beneath her chin and scratched.

Akane reacted instantly. She'd always been an overly sensitive child; it amounted to endless headaches for her parents. Against her will to appear mature, Akane giggled. Yuuhei continued to tickle her, scratching her collar and neck as well. The little princess laughed and swatted at his hands. A rare expression crossed the actor's face, somewhere between amusement and adoration. He scratched the little girl's sides until she couldn't sit up any longer. Akane fell back on the couch, squealing with laughter.

"Ha-Ha-Hanejima-sensei!" She cackled, kicking her legs at him. "Stoooop!"

She tried scratching him back, going directly for his stomach. However, Yuuhei barely responded. Akane wiggled around like a caterpillar, tossed about from one of his hands to the other, giggling the whole time.

When Shizuo returned from his errands, he found the little princess all tuckered out. But his brother appeared no different than before. What had happened? Surely Akane hadn't just decided to jump up and run in circles for half an hour.