"Shinichi." the boy looked over as his right arm called him.
"Do shita, Miki?" he asked, a little more spaced out than usual.
"You spend too much time thinking of the female, Kana."
"Do I?" Shinichi sighed rhetorically, rolling his eyes; he knew that the parasite would never understand the nature of his frequent thoughts of Kana.
"I'm serious. She's too perceptive for you to keep this up without her noticing." Miki eyed his host, arms crossed in disapproval.
"What makes you think she's such a threat?" the boy asked, legitimately more curious than angry with his friend.
"I'm just concerned she'll find us out. And when she does, she, most likely, will not react favourably when she is able to comprehend it."
"She already knows I'm less than human." Shinichi pointed out, sitting up on the bed as a show of his attention.
"Rude. With me, you are more than human. I saved your life you know. The least you can do is take my advice when I offer it to you."
"Whatever. I'm going to sleep..." he yawned, letting Miki sit in his desk chair to scour the internet as he slept.
"You'd better not dream of her." the parasite warned, fingers clacking on the keyboard, something that lulled Shinichi to sleep each night.
"I can't help what my subconscious brings me. Goodnight, Miki." he said, pulling the blankets over his body.
"Goodnight, Shinichi." Miki said, entering "love" in the google search box he always used for his research.
The next day...
"Shinichi-kun!" Kana threw herself upon him, hugging him. Surprised, Shinichi managed to catch her without falling over.
"Ohayo, Kana-san." he greeted her, cheeks turning pink.
"Why are you up so early anyway? You could probably ask me the same thing, but I woke up because I knew you'd be here."
"Ah. Well, even on the weekends, I like to walk as the sun comes up. It feels...renewing."
"The dawn of a new day." she replied with a slight titter. "I never knew you were such a romantic, Shinichi-kun." She took her left arm in both of hers, smiling as she usually did while she spoke "There's this coffee shop, not too far from here, and it's set in a really open space with a big glass window. Through that window, you can see the sun shine over just about everything. Do you want to go with me?"
"Ah, we can go, if you really want to, Kana-san." Shinichi agreed. He was glad to see her, simply because her cheerfulness was so infectious, but his stomach clenched as her hands wrapped around his while they were walking. Like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be. Kana... it really does seem as if she knows so much about Miki and I already. It's not as though I don't trust her or anything like that. But I think I understand why Migi is so uneasy about her interest in me. I understand that he probably feels... vulnerable.
"Shinichi-kun?" Kana's large eyes sparkled with concern.
"Gomen. I just space out alot, don't worry about me."
"Ah. Anyway, we're at the coffee shop I told you about." The building was small, cozy looking, all oak and red brick. Stepping in, the scent of Arabica rushed into Shinichi's nostrils. His senses were much stronger than the average human's, but even Kana noticed the strength of it. She ordered a Nutella flavoured mocha, and Shinichi ordered a simple black tea with orange syrup.
"You don't talk too much, do you, Shinichi-kun?" Kana noted.
"No, I've never been very outgoing or one to converse very much." He admitted.
"That's alright. It just means that I'll have the challenge of figuring out all by myself. You're like a puzzle."
He resisted the urge to flinch as she touched his right arm. He smiled at her as sincerely as possible, hoping Miki wasn't going to be waking up anytime too soon. Turning to the window, he noticed the sun, brimming light on the horizon as it slowly continued rising. Gold enveloped the first line of the sky, the gradient gradually increasing. The light blue sky developed hints of green as the gold proceeded, and then there were hints of ruby, amethyst, bubblegum, peach, and tourmaline. The hints were now splashes, all fading into each other so naturally.
"It's really beautiful, isn't it, Shinichi-kun?" Kana mused, her eyes looking just as lovely as their black depths reflected the sky's colours.
"Ah. It really is." he agreed. He wondered what it would be like to lay a kiss on her mouth or cheek in this moment. It wasn't a wild lust that made him think about this. The fact that she was cute, he cared for her, and how beautiful a memory it would be to have were reason enough for him. Slowly, he leaned over the table, caressed the border of Kana's lips, and laid a kiss on her right cheek. He stared into her eyes with a smile, letting his left hand trail her jaw flirtatiously before he drew back and dropped his arm to his side. She was blushing, blinking at him slowly like a cat does when showing affection to his or her owner. She really is such a pretty girl... Shinichi thought, quietly content. The two paid for their drinks, walking up the same road they'd traveled down earlier, when the coffee shop was still their destination. Kana had a different air about her though, now, than she did before. She seemed bothered, like she knew something bad was going to happen.
"Kana, do sh..." Before Shinichi could finish, a man appeared in front of them, eyes devoid of any expression, as well as his face.
"He's not human." Kana warned. He stood in front of her protectively, pulling a knife he'd taken with him in case trouble came along while Migi was still asleep. He watched the parasite's face disassemble, cuts of meat opening up to blade ended muscle. He knocked back each of the parasite's blades in a frenzy of right arm movements, grabbing the tentacle it came from and yanking it over, kicking the non human square in the face. In this moment, his knife arm was over powered momentarily, both him and Kana receiving a slice on the cheek, but hers seemed considerably deeper based on her cry of surprise. Angered, he took its bladed tentacles, stabbing one in its head and its heart.
"Come on!" He took her by the sleeve as the parasite withered to ashes, running with her quickly to his own home. She'd be safe there, for a little bit, at least. He grabbed the first aid kit from his bathroom, and sat her down on his bed. Carefully, he dabbed her cheek would with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. Kana winced a bit, gripping the bedsheets slightly as the antiseptic stung her exposed, split flesh.
"Looks like it cut you a little worse than me." Shinichi said sympathetically.
"Urusei, you were the one in battle!" Kana huffed, disinfecting his cheek with a cottonball as he had done to her. "Ha, now we're pain twins."
"Ouch." he joked, laughing with his friend.
"Seriously though, what was that guy?" she asked, her tone more concerned now. Shinichi looked away.
"What makes you think I'd know? I only protected you from it."
"Your presence... it's feels similar to how that thing's did. Neither of you are normal. His was more feral, but..."
"Can we not talk about this?" He asked, not wanting to believe he was any less human than before Migi took his arm, rather than his brain.
"Right. Gomen... I shouldn't have compared you to it. You're Izumi Shinichi, you're human, and a really nice guy." She said my name with so much certainty. She just said it like there's no doubt in her mind that I'm no different, no less the person than I've always been. He thought, thinking of how painful it was each time to Murano ask "Are you really Izumi Shinichi?" She asked it so many times now, that he'd lost count. Miki will be awake soon... anything flirtatious I might try with Kana needs to be done before he finishes his comatose like sleep state. In a moment of impulsiveness, Shinichi pulled Kana into a hug, stroking her hair through his fingers as began whispering his thanks to her.
"You have no idea how much it means to me that you said my name like that. Like you trust my identity is really mine."
"No problem, Shinichi-kun." she replied, cradling the back of his head in her hand. He walked her out of his house and outside. Tenderly, he took the right side of her lips, with his right hand, and kissed her left cheek, trailing his fingers down her jaw the same as earlier. She slowly walked away from him, pushing open the gate that separated his residence from the street.
"Ja ne, Kana-san." he said gently.
"Sayonara, Shinichi-kun." He watched her leave before going back inside, laying on his bed and putting his earbuds in. Halfway through his Sean Townsend (pianist) playlist, Miki awakened. He took one earbud out, ready to hear anything his parasite had to say to him. He eyed the host, curious and near playful.
"You look like you just had the best orgasm of your life." Shinichi laughed at this.
"Not exactly." he replied, wondering where the sense of humor had come from in his all logical partner.
"Control yourself. There's so much oxytocin and testosterone in your blood it's beginning to intoxicate me a bit, Shinichi."
"It's my body, not a TV. I can't just tell it to quit releasing hormones like I can press stop on a remote."
"Relieve yourself of some of these chemicals through masturbation then." Shinichi nearly fell off his bed, looking at Migi like he'd developed a second eye. He relaxed though, as Miki didn't sound particularly serious, laying back on the bed with a sigh. "I know you have a good image in your mind, and I've noticed that you have a subconscious desire to mate with either Kana or Murano, and I'm curious to see if I could cause an erection in your sex organ. Perhaps you'd like to mate with both Kana and Murano simultaneously?" He continued, more enthusiastically as he watched his host's reaction. Shinichi was almost positive that his parasite was joking with him now, and he spoke.
"What have you been researching?" he let himself relax into the pillows more fully. He twisted slightly, a discomfort growing between his hips. He suddenly knew why. Miki is my heart now... he controls my bloodflow, and he can send it wherever he likes. "O-Oi, Miki, stop that!" He stuttered.
"No, I want to observe human self gratification." the parasite said, monotone but defiant.
"Ow! That's too much. M-Miki!"
"Just do it, Shinichi. I know you want to mate with those two females."
"Urusei! Stop-ah!-no! It's my body, quit-uhnnn!-forcing my hand! Miki!"
10 minutes later...
"Pervert." Shinichi snorted, washing his hands clean as he tried to forget how good it actually felt.
"You're the one with the desires, I simply brought them to your attention and had you relieve yourself of them so they wouldn't bother us."
"I do not have desires for them! I think they're pretty girls, that doesn't mean I'm in a hurry to have sex!" His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. He had received two new texts, one from Murano, one from Kana.
Murano: Izumi-kun, can we do something together soon? I haven't seen you for a while.
Kana: I'm free most of this week, but I'm going to be busy all of tomorrow. Let me know when you want to go on another date.
"Shinichi, you're smiling. You spent time with Kana while I was in my sleep state, didn't you?" Miki blinked, crossing his arms with disapproval.
"Ah," he sighed guiltily. " A parasite showed up, and I took care of it without looking suspicious. She believes that I'm human. I don't think she's a threat."
"I see. Well, there's that oxytocin again..."