Upside Down

[Chinatsu"s POV]

Last night, with Mom and me helping Sora, we spent almost two hours with her trying on different outfits before she finally settled on what to wear today. Mom also wanted her to wear more makeup, but she declined, saying "She looked good enough without it." I agree, she"s a beautiful girl with or without it.

I wake up to Sora gently shaking me. When I open my eyes and smile at her, she gives me a kiss. Stretching and groaning a little after she stands, she holds her hand out to me to help me up as well. After throwing on our gowns, gathering our clothes we laid out for today and collecting Honoka, we begin our day as we usually do, bathing.

After we take our bath and dress, Honoka and Sora cook breakfast as usual while I set the table and make the tea. After we eat and clean up, Dad calls us girls over.

"Girls, I"m sure you already know this, but I"m going to say it anyway. You three are to stay together at all times. If you can"t get on the same rides at the same time, you wait until the next one where you can. It"s going to be hard to watch over you in that crowd as it stands, but at the same time it makes it less likely something will happen. Still, use common sense and trust your feelings like Sora did at the pool. As always, wear your watches and cell phones. Honoka, these are yours."

Dad hands her a watch like ours and a cell phone. "Thanks Dad." She tells him which makes him grin.

A little early, the door chime sounds at 9:50. I didn"t think Ryu would be late for their date, he seems like a good guy, even if I"m jealous of him. I"m so afraid Sora is going to get caught up in him and forget about me. I know she wouldn"t ever do that to me, as she loves me as much as I love her, but knowing that doesn"t lessen my anxiety over it.

Sora heads to the front door and leads Ryuichi and his brother, Ryota, into the living room where everyone is. He"s a rather good looking guy. Taller than his brother and a bit over a year older.

"Everyone, this is Ryuichi and Ryota Ueno. This is my Mama, Dad, my younger sister Chinatsu, and our older sister Honoka." Sora introduces everyone, gesturing to us as she says our name.

Dad stands and shakes hands with each of them.

"I understand you"re taking my girls to Playland?"

"That"s right, Mr. Kobayashi." Ryu answers.

Dad nods. "Okay, have fun, but I expect you boys to watch out for my girls. Have them home by 9 as well. Ryu, Sora says you know about her situation, but I"m going to reiterate it so we"re clear. Sora tires easily, so I want you boys to keep an eye out for her. Make time to take breaks and do so often. She has a tendency to not say anything until it"s too late and she"s already exhausted. She"ll push herself to that extent if you let her. If it happens because you two don"t do as I"m asking, it"ll be the last time you go anywhere with my girls. Am I making myself clear?"

Ryu nods when Dad looks at him. "Of course, Mr. Kobayashi. I"d already made plans for us to do so."

Dad looks at Ryo and he nods as well. "I didn"t know, but I"ll keep an eye out as well."

Dad nods. "Good, then I"ll take you boys at your word." He looks at us. "I shouldn"t have to tell you, but call the driver or me if you get too tired. Don"t get separated either and have fun."

Honoka says, "Of course, Dad. I"ll make sure it doesn"t happen."

We say our goodbyes and head for the door.

As we are walking to the station, Ryo suddenly says, "d.a.m.n, now, I can see why you"re all Ryu could talk about for the last week, you"re hot as h.e.l.l." which of course embarra.s.ses Sora, but she also looks a little angry as well.

Ryu sighs. "Didn"t we talk about this right before we left the house, Ryo? I specifically asked you not to make an a.s.s of yourself for once."

"What? I gave her compliment. I wasn"t rude either." Ryo replies looking confused.

Honoka turns to look at Ryo and asks, "Do you think it"s appropriate to tell someone you just met something like that? My sister isn"t all that good at dealing with people she doesn"t know, especially boys. How do you think that made her feel to have someone she just met minutes ago say something like that? And by the way, what you said isn"t a compliment to most girls. A compliment is "you"re cute" or "you"re very pretty." "You"re hot as h.e.l.l" is a euphemism for "You"re pretty and I want to screw you." Girls aren"t as dumb you seem to think we are."

"Huh? What? I didn"t mean it that way. I really meant it as she"s pretty, not that I want to do her." He replies looking even more confused.

"If you don"t know the context for something, then you shouldn"t use it."

"Nee-chan, would you drop it please?" Sora pleads.

"If you want Sora. I still think he should apologize." She says with a sharp tone. Its super easy to see Honoka"s really upset over this. I don"t see how he couldn"t know that"s somewhat derogatory to girls. Even Sora knows it and she"s still learning how to be a girl.

I"m really surprised when Ryo taps Sora on the shoulder. "Sora, I truly didn"t mean it like that and I"m sorry."

"It"s fine, let"s just drop this and get going." She mutters.

Of course, you"d know the train is going to be packed which simply makes it just that much more likely someone will cop a feel. Surprisingly, after Honoka and I stick Sora in the middle of us, the boys move between the crowd and us. Honestly, even then I"m really glad we don"t have to be on the train for very long and we take the short walk to Playland"s entrance, which has a fairly long line of people waiting.

"Sora, why don"t you and your sisters find a bench and sit down. We"ll come get you after we get the tickets." Ryu tells us.

"Thanks Ryu, we"ll do that." Sora replies with a smile which again brings my anxiety to the forefront again. I don"t know if I can do this.

Ryo leans in and whispers to me, "Relax, we"ll take care of you three. There"s no need to be anxious."

So, he could tell I"m anxious and here I thought he was a self-centered jerk after what he said to Sora. Maybe he really didn"t mean anything by it.

It doesn"t take a long time for them to get our tickets and when they get over to us, she takes Ryu"s elbow as we make our way inside. It"s crowded and that may be why she did it, but I have my doubts that is the reason.

Apparently, Ryu thought this out and doesn"t plan to simply wing it. He shows Sora a list of rides and an order to take them in. Sora looks a little hesitant when he talks about some of them. I know she"s never been to an amus.e.m.e.nt park, so she"s probably worried if she can handle some of what he has listed. I love amus.e.m.e.nt parks and have yet to find a ride I don"t like. Although, haunted houses are far from my favorites. Ryo and I have been talking the whole time as we make our way to the first ride.

First one up is named "The Whip." Sora and Ryu take the seats in front of Ryo and I. She yells and laughs and seems to have a great time on it. Ryu"s eyes never left her face, even for a moment, during the ride. He smiles at her when she reaches over and grabs his hand.

The next one is "The Sky Swing." It looks like a lot of fun, but we girls flat refuse to go on it after we see one girl in a dress expose her nether region to everyone. We told them go right ahead and sit down to wait for them. I"m serious, it does look like a lot of fun, but there"s no way any of us are showing our panties to everyone. Talk about embarra.s.sing. The boys had a lot of fun on it though and if I wasn"t wearing a skirt, I"d have gone too. Going by the look on Sora"s face she would have as well.

Up next, it"s a spinning ride, but it"s a little different because it spins in all 3 axises. I love the thing and so does Ryo as he asks me to call him. Slowly, I"ve become more absorbed in our conversation and I"m realizing I judged him too rashly. He may not think before he says something, but he doesn"t mean any harm. Sora doesn"t seem to fair so well with this ride though. She came off of it a little nauseous.

When we take a seat to allow her to recover a little, Ryu apologizes to her and she gives him a weak smile and tells him, "It"s nothing to be sorry for. If I didn"t want to get on the ride I wouldn"t have. I had no idea it would make me feel like this, so don"t apologize." He sits beside her and gently rubs her back while she recovers.

She take his elbow again as we make our way over to the next ride, one of the twelve rollercoasters here. It"s not even close to the biggest one in the park. I love rollercoasters and laugh and scream my lungs out throughout the ride. I"ve no idea when I took Ryo"s hand, but he doesn"t seem upset or embarra.s.sed by it. I also notice that Ryo spent more time looking at me smiling than paying attention to the ride. After the restraints were released he got out and offered me his hand to help me. He didn"t let go either, which brought a smile to my lips.

I don"t know when I quit focusing on Ryu and Sora and more pay attention to Ryo and the fun we are having. Honestly, we seem to be getting along extremely well.

Honoka, hangs back and keeps an eye on us and the crowd. At one point someone catches her attention and she moves in between him and Sora. She stayed there until some girl came up and those two left together. Sora, notices as well and sends her a questioning look at her and she simply shakes her head.

"Are you having fun Sora?" Ryu asks her.

"Oh, most definitely Ryu. Thank you so much for inviting us today."

He smiles as he glances at his watch. "It"s past lunch time. Are you hungry yet?" He asks her.

"I could eat. Nee-chan, Chinatsu, Ryo, are you hungry?" Sora asks us.

We all reply "Yes." which settles what we are doing next. We all decide on burgers for lunch and the boys head to the counter to get our orders while we find an empty table.

"Sora, how are you holding up?" I ask her. I can see she needs a nap, but I"m curious if she"ll admit it.

"I"m fine. A little tired and I could use a short nap, but fine otherwise. The breaks have been helping and Ryu won"t listen if I try to tell him I don"t need it." She tells me with a smile. She really does like him. Not that I can blame her, he has a well-deserved reputation as a nice, kind and gentle guy in school. If Sora and he end up together it"s going to break a lot of girls hearts. Maybe even mine as well, even though I doubt that"s likely. Sora would never purposely hurt me and I know she meant it when she said she wouldn"t see him if I didn"t want her to or that she"d never leave me.

When they return, I smile as Ryo sits down beside me. Ryu, of course, sits beside Sora and a smile lights up her face. I"ve only seen her smile at me that way. If she likes him that much, I"ll do my best to control myself. Of course, I might very well have the perfect distraction sitting right beside me. He"s sweet, good looking, and quite attentive, but that doesn"t mean I"ll ever let Sora go even if I do start dating him. I just hope she doesn"t try to hold herself back for my sake, that would hurt me far worse than anything else. I guess we should talk about this more if things keep going the way they look to be.

I have to admit I"m attracted to Ryo. I"m finding it hard to keep my eyes off of Ryo"s handsome face, who looks right back at me with a huge smile. I"ve been smiling so much today, I"m sure my cheeks are going to hurt tonight. I mostly came to be with Sora, now, I"m simply happy to be with Ryo and having a great time, even though I still have a surge of jealousy now and again.

I look at Ryu as he begins laughing and grabs Sora"s knee and nods in the direction of the park mascot being swarmed by a large group of kids. Sora looks and laughs along with him as the kids manage to knock the poor mascot down. When he finally notices he"s still holding onto her knee, he blushes and quickly removes it. She gives him a dazzling smile, grabs his hand and puts it back. My heart aches a little because I know all too well what she"s thinking right now by the look in her eyes.

After lunch, we look around to find a quieter place, where Sora can take a nap. Honoka pulls her against her and tells her to take a nap. I didn"t really expect her to be able to fall asleep, but she did shortly after she closes her eyes. Honoka tells us we can go do something, just to be back by 3. Ryo takes my hand as he and I head over to a game center we saw on the way here. We play several games which I"m beaten badly in. Surprisingly, he apologizes to me, and chuckles good naturedly as he explains he plays a lot of games. As a way of making it up to me, he wins me a super cute stuffed Panda by playing a UFO game which earns him a kiss on the cheek. Afterward, we make our way back to the others hand-in-hand, arriving back just as Honoka is shaking Sora to wake her.

We ride three more of the rollercoasters, one of them being the largest one in the park. Have I mentioned I love rollercoasters? Ya, I really do. I don"t know why, but I could go from coaster to coaster and never tire of them. Ryo never lets go of my hand for more than a few moments during all of the time we do this. Mostly, to allow the restraints to lock around us.

Later that evening, we go to the haunted house. I don"t know if they were hoping it would happen, but if so, it did. Both Sora and I end up against them. At one point, Sora almost literally leaps up into Ryu"s arms as an actor with a b.l.o.o.d.y axe came at us. I was too scared to move to be honest. Honoka? Well, she laughed her way through it.

As the sun sets, Sora asks to take a break. She"s really getting tired, that much is obvious to everyone, but as long as she seems to have the strength to move on after resting, I"m not going to try to stop her. The last time we had this much fun was at the pool. She says she still wants to go on the ferris wheel and we can leave afterward.

I"ve heard the view from the top of the 350m ferris wheel is fantastic and I"d like to see it with Ryo as well. Well, I want to see if he"ll kiss me too. Sora, she seems to want to have a car alone with Ryu, so she asks us if it would be alright if she does. I immediately agree, while Honoka hesitates. When I argue that no one can touch her once she"s in the car and its on its way and Honoka could wait right at the exit for us, she finally agrees.

If I had no other reason to like Honoka, her protectiveness of the two of us, especially towards Sora, would d.a.m.n sure give me one to. I have to admit, I only said yes to her being our sister to make Sora happy at first. Now though, I thoroughly enjoy and love her being my older sister. She"s a lot of fun and loves doing things for and with us.

So, here Ryo and I are, in a car to ourselves looking at the night skyline of Tokyo while he stands behind me with his arms around me.

"Ryo?" I say quietly.

"Yes?"

"Why haven"t you tried to kiss me? After all, we"re finally alone." I ask nervously. I"m a little afraid he will tell me that he doesn"t want to do it. I turn around in his arms and look up at him while my little heart pounds and feels like it"s stuck in my throat as I look at his bewildered expression.

Shaking his head. "Chinatsu, of course I want to, but there was no way I would try to force myself on you."

I giggle in relief. "Ryo, would you think badly of a girl that kisses you first?"

He laughs. "Never in a million years, as long as she"s you. Believe it or not, you"re the first girl I"ve ever been interested in."

He steadily looks in my eyes, he"s blushing somewhat, which I find endearing, but I"m pretty sure him telling me that I"m the first girl he"s ever been interested in isn"t a line. My heart rate speeds up as I slide my arms around his neck to pull him down to me while I stand on my tiptoes and stretch up to meet his lips with mine. He pulls me against him as our lips meet.

His lips aren"t as soft as Sora"s, but he"s holding and kissing me so gently. At first it"s a soft, chaste kiss, but soon I want more, but he"s too tall for me to easily kiss him like this, so I push him backwards into the seat and crawl into his lap facing him. Taking his cheeks in between my hands. I kiss his eyelids, each cheek, and finally his lips. When I tease his lips with my tongue, he seems to be at a loss for how to respond.

Pulling back, I look at him. "Like this. Loosen up your lips, keep them a little firm and just follow me in what I do, okay? You do know you can wrap your arms around me and hold me? I promise I won"t break and I"ll let you know if it"s too much."

He nods and wraps his arms around my waist to pull me to him for another kiss. At first it was awkward to put it mildly, but he"s good at following my lead and quickly gets the hang of it. As he pulls me tighter against him, it simply excites me further and I become far more demanding of him.

It takes the ride operator opening the door and telling us the ride was over for us to notice. Giggling and smiling happily, I stand and take his hand to meet everyone at the exit. I"ll definitely be seeing more of Ryo.