Yaten's Girlfriend Thinks He's Short
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"Why does that cat always end up missing? Rei grumbled, turning onto what felt like the hundredth sidewalk.
It had been hours since the anxious call from Usagi about Luna's disappearing act, something about them getting into an argument that ended with Luna storming off and not coming back.
(Flashback)
"This is the longest she's been missing," Usagi sniffled. "I've looked everywhere for her and I-I'm really worried."
"Are you sure she's not just getting some time to herself?" Rei said. "She probably wants some alone time."
"I'm sure. Please, will you try to find her?"
After the call, Rei went into the fire room and knelt down. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to clear her mind while a tingling numbness washed over the senses. There was a familiar tugging at the back of her mind as the crackling and popping of fire faded and the warm buzzing atmosphere was replaced with a silent stillness.
All around was a faint thickness—a subtle pressing that clung, really—that felt like rubber when she put her hand out to push through it. It would stretch with the pressure from her hand but when she took it back, the rubber would return to cling again. It was like accidentally walking through a spiderweb you couldn't get off no matter how hard you pull and jump around. A really big spiderweb.
Wrapped in the clinging, she drew in another deep breath to open her mind, keeping her eyes shut. Rei focused on Luna, producing a clear picture in her mind with "Where?" whispering in the background. It wasn't long before a spot of a vision appeared in the distance. 'That's weird,' Rei thought, frowning. 'They've never done that before.' It took a few moments before the blip started stretching and growing until it filled her mind. Strange, it wasn't Luna. She was staring at the face of idol Yaten Kou.
(End Flashback)
A burning ache spread through Rei's feet, protesting taking another step. She really just wanted to call it a day and go home. "But I need to find Luna," she sighed. Shuffling up to an intersection, she pressed the crosswalk button and stood there sulking. She could feel the temperature of her skin rising and sweat slipping down her neck. 'Why did Usagi have to beg me to look for Luna during a heat wave?' Rei thought. 'Of all the days she could have picked, it had to be today.'
The crosswalk sign across the street switched from an orange hand to a person walking when a light flashed in peripheral vision. She absently turned her head to see a hooded person with a hand blocking their face from a camera.
Taking in their appearance, Rei didn't have to guess the person was a celebrity who didn't want to be found by paparazzi and fans. The gray jacket did a good job of concealing their identity, but also made them stand out in a crowd of T-shirts and tank tops. 'Who would be dumb enough to go outside in a heat wave wearing a hoodie and think no one would notice them?' Rei wondered, not realizing she was staring.
"What are you gawking at?" he spat, snapping Rei out of her thoughts.
"Oh, uh, I-I wasn't... nothing," she stammered, trying to find something else to look at.
Just as she was going to step into the street, the girl with camera shouted, "Look! It's Yaten Kou!"
Girls within earshot swarmed in his direction, a lot with phone cameras or autograph papers. Rei stared at Yaten, biting her lip to keep from laughing. 'So that's who!' she thought, answering her question.
Yaten sighed, slumping as the fans closed in, turning Rei's amusement to pity. Without much thought or reason, she shouted, "No, he's not Yaten Kou! He's...um, my boyfriend."
Rei didn't need to look at Yaten to know he was frowning at her. Her throat became very dry as everyone's eyes stared holes through her. Panic set in, causing her heart to thump wildly against her ribcage. "Yeah right! We would know if he had a girlfriend," a voice called. 'What do I say?' Rei thought. 'What do I say? What do I do?'
"No, he is my boyfriend. Yaten..." Rei started, knowing that whatever she said now would put her on even worse terms with him. 'I'm going to severely pay for this later,' she thought and said, "is too short to be my boyfriend."
All of the fans erupted into protests and Yaten's frown deepened. Figuring Rei would only make things worse, he decided to just get the hell out as fast as possible by playing along instead of trying to explain. Yaten casually put his arm around her shoulders and said with a dry smile, "Yup, Yaten is too short to be me. Let's go, sweetie." He pushed Rei down the sidewalk and around a street corner.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Yaten demanded, ripping off his sunglasses to reveal glaring eyes.
"I was just trying to help!" Rei exclaimed.
"Oh really? Calling me short is your idea of helping?" Yaten said. "And why would you say that I'm your boyfriend when they already know who I am? That was one of the stupidest things you could have done!"
"At least I wasn't stupid enough to go out in a heat wave in a jacket and jeans!" Rei said. "It's not my fault you have crazy, obsessed fans."
Yaten opened his mouth to reply with something like, "Not anymore after that stunt you pulled!" when he saw that annoying girl with the camera come around the corner. He grabbed Rei's arm and darted through the nearest shop door he could find. Crouching behind the door, they could hear the girl say as she walked past, "I can't wait to tell my editor about my next article: Yaten's Girlfriend Thinks He's Short."
Yaten shot another glare at Rei. Rei glared back, folding her arms. 'Why did I have end up in this mess? All I was doing was looking for Luna,' Rei thought when she remembered her vision.
"Can I ask you something?" Rei whispered. Yaten was peeking out of the glass to see if that nosy person was still there. 'This is just my luck,' thought Yaten, as Seiya's words from that morning popped into his head. "Go outside," Seiya said. "You could use the fresh air." Yaten snorted at that. No one needs fresh air when it leads to this.
"She's gone now," Yaten said, ignoring Rei's question. He coolly stepped out onto the sun-bathed pavement like, acting nothing happened, and headed off.
"Wait!" She shouted after him, hanging out of the doorway. But Yaten still ignored her and kept walking. She stamped her foot and mumbled, "Jerk."
"Who?" Rei turned around to see Minako and Seiya. Both were looking at her curiously.
"Your brother," Rei said, sticking her chin out at Seiya. The corners of his mouth lifted in a grin while Minako let out a laugh.
"I'll let him know when I see him. What did he do this time?" Seiya asked, still grinning. This would be the perfect revenge for Yaten making fun of him spending so much time with Minako.
"I had an important question and he just waltzes off," Rei said. "You haven't seen Luna at all, have you?" Seiya squinted at her, looking very puzzled. "A black cat with a crescent on her forehead," she detailed. The idol's face lit up.
"Oh! You mean Blacky! She's been staying with us all this week," Seiya replied. "I'm not sure why, though. She just showed up one day without saying anything."
"Usagi told me that they had a fight. It must have been pretty bad if Luna stayed away for a whole week," Minako said with a hand beside her mouth in a secretive way while shifting her eyes back and forth. "I tried talking to Luna but couldn't change her mind."
"And Taiki says that she needs to leave soon. We're not allowed to have pets," Seiya added. "Plus she's getting cat hair everywhere. Yesterday she napped on one of Taiki's shirts he laid out for a date that night and he had a fit."
"Maybe you could talk to her," Minako suggested, causing Rei to smile nervously. That would mean going to their house.
More specifically, Yaten's house.
Minako spotted her hesitation and quickly added, "Oh, come on Rei! You should at least try to sort this out."
"I don't know. I don't think Luna would listen to me," Rei said, trying to find an out.
"Please," Minako and Seiya said in unison.
"It's important that she fixes her problem instead of hiding from it," Seiya said. "Plus it's stressing Taiki out, which affects our work."
"Oh come on! Do it for the greater good!" Minako said, grabbing Rei's hands.
Rei looked back and forth from Minako's pleading face to Seiya's pitifully defeated look. 'Like getting Luna out is the hardest thing he's tried to do,' Rei thought, rolling her eyes. "I guess I can try," Rei resigned.
They arrived at a building stacked high with bricks, balconies, and shining windows. A blast of cold air welcomed them as they stepped into the lobby. Two words immediately screamed in Rei's mind as she looked around—expensive and refined. The walls were a classic off-white color, framed by dark oak molding. Reflections bounced off the cream marble floor from a chandelier that hung from the center of the ceiling, surrounded by in-ceiling lights. 'It sure pays to be an idol,' she thought, watching Seiya and Minako stride across the shiny floor to the lift. They turned around, looking at Rei expectantly when she realized she had frozen on the spot. The image in her mind of a cranky Yaten demanding she be arrested for trespassing caused some doubt.
Rei took in a deep breath, entering the elevator. 'For the greater good,' she reminded herself.
Yaten was laying on his bed, scrolling through the social media on his phone. So far, there were only about 100 posts about earlier, though many more were sure to pop up later. "I can't believe Yaten would date someone who criticizes his height!" one of the posts read. "Who does she think she is to treat my Yaten like that?" and "I would never call precious Yaten "short"! What a snob!" also appeared, with many comments under each. Yaten irritably sighed, shutting off his phone. First it was having to go out of his way to give her a ride at the coffee shop and now this!
He growled to the ceiling, "I don't care how pretty she is. She is a pest!"
Hearing a soft thump at the end of the bed, he raised his head to see Luna waddling across the soft mattress towards him with her tail sticking straight up. She rubbed against his outstretched hand, purring loudly. Yaten sighed again as he scratched behind her ears. "Let's hope the rest of today goes better," he said to Luna who meowed in agreement.
Seiya's booming laughs erupted through the quiet apartment, followed by Minako's high-pitched giggling. Yaten closed his eyes, trying to ignore it. 'Why do those two always have to hang around here?' he thought.
"Hey Shorty!" Seiya shouted, accompanied by Minako's shrieks of laughter. "Your girlfriend is here to see you!"
"And there goes the rest of today," Yaten grumbled.
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Here it is! Chapter 2 ^-^ Hmm... it took an unexpected turn from first chapter.
Special thanks to Sol Levine and Lexie for your reviews! They were a joy to read and motivation for this chapter, so thank you.
Thanks to all for reading!
