Sonozaki Residence
Mion closed her eyes and buried her face in her knees, wishing for what had to be the millionth time that things were different. She could still see Keiichi's questioning eyes staring at her after he'd finally cornered her in the classroom, asking for answers on why she had been so strange as of late. As much as she'd wanted to tell him, she remembered Oryou's threatening promise that family matters were to remain family matters and no outsider was meant to know of them. To keep herself from breaking her word to keep things silent, she'd all but fled from Keiichi whenever she saw him, knowing that she'd slip if he asked her directly.
'Man, why do I like him so much? It makes it really hard to keep my mouth shut about this stuff...'
Her inner tirade was cut off quite abruptly when a pair of hands yanked on her ankles, dragging her off her porch to land ungracefully on her ass in the dirt. She started immediately, eyes flashing as she recognized the back of her assailant, racing off to the left, laughing maniacally as he went. Her frustration and sadness trickled into a controllable throbbing as she gave chase to the teenage boy, and she was abruptly glad for his presence.
Her voice however didn't say that as she roared at him, giving him a graphic account of all the torture she planned on putting him through when she got her hands around his throat. His answer was a mocking bark of a chuckle, which only made Mion press her legs harder so she could catch the dark-haired boy. She yelled after him, eyes flashing violently, "You're dead Kenji, dead!"
"Only if you can catch me, cousin!" Kenji shouted back grandly, but he turned his head to see how far behind she was and made his fatal error. Tripping on an uneven piece of earth, he staggered forward and Mion was close enough to see his mistake and take advantage of it. The poor nineteen year old never had a chance, Mion sprang into a tackle that nailed him from behind and sent him flying face first into the ground. "Damn!"
Mion laughed triumphantly, arranging herself on top of her older cousin, tugging his arms behind his back and sitting rather primly right on top of him. He grunted unhappily into the grass but she paid him no mind, enjoying her victory, which were quite rare considering her cousin had taught her all she'd known about battle and martial arts. When he stopped struggling, she grinned and gloated pleasantly, "Rule number three of the club, never take your eyes off of your prize, and in my case, that was kicking your ass. You are totally and utterly beaten Kenji."
"Yeah well at least you're smiling again instead of moping around." Kenji taunted, his voice muffled because of the mouthful of grass he'd been forced to eat. If he had seen Mion's expression he would have known that he crossed a line but Mion was prompt to inform him of his slip by shoving his head unceremoniously into the dirt. Spluttering when she lifted him by grabbing a handful of his black hair, he cursed, "Dammit, you're going to kill me! You won already, get off of me!"
"I don't think so. I was not moping around." Mion replied icily, releasing her hold on his head but keeping his arms secure by pinning them with her legs. Even though her cousin was twice her size, she had used his weight against him more than once and she planned to keep him down so she could punish him for teasing her. "I was just thinking, so you better get your facts straight."
He was already on the ground and Mion had quite a range of control over him, but Kenji was as stubborn as she was and refused to submit to her pressure. He turned his head and grinned mockingly at her, trying to look at intimidating as possible with a face streaked with grass stains and dirt as he jeered, "Thinking about that Maebara guy that you told me about? Who would've thought that my favourite headstrong cousin was actually a woman under all that bravado!"
"Kenji, how much do you value what makes you a man?" The veiled threat was uttered in the voice of a true Sonozaki headmistress, and Mion's emerald eyes practically glowed with icy anger. For his credit, Kenji didn't look the least bit scared as he sneered back into her face. After a tense moment of traded glares, she looked away and her face pinked slightly. Releasing his arms from her knees, she got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her clothes, not offering to help him stand.
Kenji rolled onto his back, his dark shirt effectively coated with dirt, his grey shorts permanently stained with green marks. Folding his arms under his head, he looked straight up into the abashed face of his female relative and smiled gently when she finally met his eyes. Gesturing that she was to sit beside him, he sat up and apologized warmly, "Sorry, I know you really like him. I shouldn't tease you so much, it's just new for me to have something to rag on you for. You never left me alone when I hooked up with Aiko in Tokyo."
"That's because I couldn't believe a woman could stand you." Mion replied grumpily, folding her arms around herself as she flopped onto the grass beside him. She found it rather difficult to remember why she loved her cousin so much right now, but when he slung his arm around her shoulders and fondly ruffled her hair, she could feel the affection returning. While she attempted to be undemonstrative, especially around the opposite sex, she liked this attention and elbowed Kenji tenderly in the stomach. "Fine, point taken... I'll shut up about Aiko-chan if you leave me alone about Kei-chan."
"Kei-chan, pretty girly nickname for a boy. You sure he's not in the closet?" Kenji asked casually, receiving a very hard punch to the gut for his trouble. Falling onto his back and cradling his bruised stomach, he groaned, "C'mon woman, it's a fair question! Who gives their straight friends a nickname like that?"
"Me and Shion are the only ones who call him Kei-chan." Mion told him sourly, almost regretting that she'd let him back up from the ground now that he was teasing her again. He just smiled innocently when he caught sight of her scowl, which only made her want to hit him again. She knew her older cousin didn't mean anything bad when he taunted her, but she still didn't like his teasing when it came to the boy she was so obviously taken with.
Kenji, realizing that he'd hurt her, sighed and nuzzled gently against her hair, silently apologizing for his blunder. She grumbled and half-heartedly pushed him away, but he was insistent and it was enough for her to finally admit defeat with another elbow to his ribcage. Knowing her roughness to be her way of showing affection, the dark-haired boy glanced up into the cloudless Hinamizawa sky and chuckled under his breath. Mion looked at him curiously, and he explained peacefully, "It feels nice being back here. I remember spending my summers here with you and the rest of the family when I was a kid. We were quite the brats."
"Well it didn't help that Shion couldn't go to any of the family meetings and you couldn't either. It gave you two plenty of time to refine your talents." Mion reminded him with a roll of her eyes, but her smile was broad and couldn't be hidden from him as she thought of the mischief her twin and cousin had created. Kenji was infamous for starting trouble whenever he could, and a belligerent Shion at the age of six had been quite eager to raise hell if she got the chance. The two together was an explosion waiting to happen.
"How is Shion anyway? You told me last time we talked that she'd transferred to your school." Kenji asked curiously, dark eyes bright with amusement at the thought of both twins together again. He knew the girls well enough to know that it had been simply a matter of time before Shion ditched the school and returned home. "She doing well there or still raising hell every time she gets the chance?"
"Well she got into a load of trouble for ditching the school..." Mion mused quietly, picking unconsciously at her fingernails, abruptly glad that her cousin knew little about their distinction. Like his father, he knew little about the conditions of being a Sonozaki and it would only anger him if he knew of their self-inflicted pain. Forcing a smile to her face, she added cheerfully, "But that's all in the past now anyway, she's going to my school now. She's kind of adopted Satoko on top of that and she spends her weekends at Rika's place to make sure they're doing alright."
"She adopted that Hojo kid?" Kenji asked with raised eyebrows, noticing that Mion's smile was gentle as she spoke of the blond child who had been so publicly abused by the entire village. Chuckling quietly, he shook his head and mumbled, "Wow, who knew she'd end up adopting the kid... Lots has changed since I was last here. I guess I should be pleased that someone's fighting the village finally."
"Newcomers normally do that without really thinking about it." Mion remarked softly, unable to hide the gentleness in her smile as she thought fondly of the boy who had truly brought a change to Hinamizawa. Shaking her head so Kenji wouldn't see the change in her expression, she shrugged lazily and added, "On top of the fact that I think everybody in the village thinks he's a cross-dresser now."
"Damn, you're harsh to a man's pride." Kenji chortled, quite amused by Mion's sadistic nature when it came to the punishment games. He was quite used to it himself, but he could only imagine the horror the poor teen had been put through in his first few weeks of club activities. Taking a glance around the garden of the estate, his grin suddenly widened as he spotted a green-haired teenager who had just arrived. Cupping a hand around his mouth, he called loudly, "There's the number two demon! Shion!"
"Oh shut up you monster!" Shion called back playfully, laughing as she cleared the distance between the gate and her cousin, only to be engulfed in a viscous bear hug that left her breathless. Mion laughed at the sight, and embarrassed, Shion pushed away his arms and griped, "Jeez man, you're getting bigger every time I see you! You're as big as a bear! It's been so long Kenji!"
Kenji chortled and wrapped his arm protectively around her waist, noticing that Shion's face was alight with mischief. She turned to her sister who was regarding them with amusement, and she informed her with a chirp, "Mother wants you at the front gate for a second, she says it's urgent."
"Ah shit, it's probably about Uncle again." Mion slapped a hand to her forehead then bowed apologetically to Kenji before tapping her twin in the head with her index finger. Dodging a good-natured smack from her sister and laughing as she did so, the older girl ran off towards the estate to help her mother with the new problems that had come up.
Once she was out of earshot, Kenji released Shion and stooped slightly, gripping her by the shoulders so he could get a good look into her eyes. She was grinning from ear to ear at him, not even bothering to hide her excitement as he examined her. Rolling his eyes, he tried to find an excuse to keep silent but her enthusiasm was contagious, and he was a born trouble maker. If she had something going on, it was only natural for him to want to be right in the middle of it. Admitting defeat in the face of his perfect match, he asked in a falsely tired voice, "Alright Shion-chan, tell me exactly what plot you've got going this time and how can I help you?"
"Good boy, you didn't even need me to open my mouth." Shion giggled, clapping her hands with approval before she yanked him down by the collar so she could better whisper into his ear. She was worried about Mion returning once she realized that their mother hadn't called for her, and explained urgently, "So you know all about Kei-chan, right? Well I decided it was about time for him and Sis to stop dancing around each other, so I lied and said that the reason why Mion was missing so much school and acting so weird was because she had a boyfriend."
The older boy couldn't help it, he hooted with laughter and was silenced promptly when Shion hit him in the solar-plexus with one well-aimed punch. Her arm was as strong as her sister's and it winded him because she didn't hold back. Coughing and spluttering, he rubbed at the injury and grunted, "Point taken, shutting up. Keep explaining."
"Well, I guess what I want to ask is; will you do a favour for your favourite cousin?" Shion didn't bother to sugarcoat what she wanted, especially when it came to possibly assuring her sister's happiness. Kenji stared at her with one raised eyebrow, not understanding, and she let out a grunt of annoyance before grumbling fiercely, "I want you to play her boyfriend for the next few days, when you're in public. Take her out on the town, flaunt her like arm-candy! I'll arrange for Kei-chan to catch you two and make him jealous. If he talks to you about her, just brush him off, y'know, make him see what a good catch Sis is and all. You can do that, can't you?"
Kenji paused, pursing his lips as he thought over her request seriously. While it would be rather easy to make his already affectionate relationship with Mion to look like something more, he wasn't entirely sure that he could escape the situation unscathed. He knew little about the boy that his cousin was so taken with, and also had no idea if he'd resort to violence if he felt that Mion was being maltreated. "A few concerns here... This Keiichi guy, he's not violent, right? I mean if I play on the uncaring ass of a boyfriend, he's not exactly going to come after me with a gun?"
"Kei-chan might be a lot of things but he's a pansy. Don't worry about him trying to kill you." Shion waved off the idea with a strange grin, and she knew that Kenji wasn't buying her excuse. She wouldn't lie and say that she'd seen Keiichi when he grew seriously angry, but she had a feeling that if pushed far enough, his chivalrous instincts would kick in and he would come violently to her sister's defence. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you could knock him on his ass if he came at you anyway, you're huskier than him by a long-shot. Next?"
"Not the point... But fine, next. I'm assuming that she has no idea what you're plotting and you want me to keep it way secret?" Kenji already knew the answer but he wanted her to confirm it and a single sharp nod quelled that worry. He made a show of stretching his arms before he asked his next question, and he drawled it out, "Third, please keep your trap shut about this to Aiko, if she found this out I'd be castrated. I'll do it, as long as you just don't tell Aiko."
"Deal, I'll keep my mouth shut if you do this for Mion." Shion agreed immediately, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her lips. The puzzle pieces were falling exactly where she wanted them to land, and it was now only a matter of time before the plan began to roll and would become unstoppable.
"Yeah right, I'm doing this for Mion and not for your sadistic pleasure Shion-chan." Kenji replied with a roll of his eyes, knowing full well how much Shion was going to enjoy torturing her sister and the boy, to some extent. He knew that despite loving her sister, she'd jump on any opportunity to mess with Mion if she could get away with it.
"How many times have I told you not to call me 'chan'? I hate it when you do that. You're only two years older than me." Shion griped, crossing her arms and frowning when he flashed her a giant 'I-know-you-do-but-I-don't-care' smile that he had mastered over the years. She wanted to punch him but she knew Mion would be showing up at any minute so she decided she could always punish him later.
"I reserve the right to call you whatever I want until this charade is over and I've escaped with all my teeth intact, thank you very much."
"Point taken and permission granted."
Keiichi was still rather in shock the next day, having not entirely digested everything that Shion had told him the day before. He'd walked to school in a complete daze, with Mion being blissfully absent once again, though Rena had surprised him at his door quite early that morning. He'd somehow managed to keep a half-decent conversation going with the auburn-haired girl, but he knew that she could tell that he was off but he didn't have the strength to bring up what Shion had told him.
'Besides...' He reminded himself numbly, 'I promised to keep my mouth shut anyway...' His night had been erratically fitful with the cicadas crying out through his window to keep him up until quite late. Shion's words, all the information she had on the boy who was dating Mion, kept circling through his head until he'd gotten up and ran into the washroom to douse himself in a very cold shower. It hadn't really worked and only kept him up even later, but he didn't regret agreeing to do a favour for Shion to learn everything he could about this strange 'Kenji' figure.
"Shut up! He actually said that to Miss Chie?" Mion's voice cut through his thoughts like a hot knife through butter, and automatically his eyes trained on the emerald-haired girl who was chatting lively with Rena by her desk. Her lithe body shook with barely contained laughter, and she had pressed her hand tightly to her mouth to keep the noise down as Rena began to giggle. "Oh god, what happened?! Did she kill him? Please tell me she killed him!"
"I don't think she killed him but she was very mad, yes she was! I couldn't believe he'd said that too but I don't think manager knew what he was getting into when he started talking." Rena replied in a hushed voice, though she was clearly having trouble controlling her laughter. She reached out to touch Mion's shoulder, leaning close as she continued, "She went right up to him and hit manager over the head with a textbook!"
Keiichi listened silently to Mion's laughter and was surprised by the warmth the sound fuelled in him, and how suddenly the world righted itself. She was giggling crazily, leaning onto her desk and supporting herself with her hands while Rena tried to stop herself from laughing too hard too. He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to smile along with her giggles, it just seemed so natural to watch and grin along with her pleasure, as if it was his own.
Mion brushed her hand over her eyes, shivering and trying to catch her breath as she brushed away the tears of mirth that had gathered from her laughter. She froze abruptly when she noticed that two seats away from where she was standing, a pair of very familiar violet eyes were watching her with unmistakable affection in them.
'K-Kei-chan?'
Her face reddened sharply, almost on cue, and she tried to take a step backwards and only ended up bumping into the nearest thing behind her, which happened to be the just-arriving Hanyuu. Turning on a dime she grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt and hastily straightened her, blinking fiercely as though to banish the look of those warm eyes she'd caught staring at her. 'Hot... It's so hot all of a sudden.'
"Mion?" Hanyuu's voice was soft, uncertain, and Mion realized she had yet to let the front of the girl's uniform go. When her hand abruptly loosened, Rika's relative gently touched her wrist and tilted her head, concern colouring her dark eyes. "You don't look very well, do you need to go outside for some fresh air?"
Mion nearly laughed aloud, but this time not with pleasure, with hysteria. Her face felt like it'd been set on fire, and her stomach was flipping so hard she felt very ill. She didn't realize she was taking excessively deep breaths until her chest began to ache, and all because she had caught Keiichi staring at her. Hanyuu was holding her arm now, keeping her upright as best she could, and the teenager murmured to herself, "Some fresh air might be good. I'm really hot, are you?"
"Mi-chan, come on outside with me." Rena, having seen the entire thing, was quick to rescue her best friend from the emotional upheaval that had sent her into shock. Winking at a very frightened-looking Hanyuu to reassure her, she led Mion outside and into the playground, smiling when she watched Mion's red face slowly fade back to normal now that she was out of the classroom. Leaning back on the wall, Rena waited patiently for her to stop hyperventilating, then tilted her head and grinned brightly when Mion looked her way. "Are you feeling better Mi-chan? I was worried you would fall over on me, I was!"
Mion tried to chuckle but the gesture was too forced and she knew it would only make her look rather pathetic if she tried lying to her friend. Rubbing at her face a bit, she glanced through her fingers at the knowing smile of her blue-eyed friend then let out a very weak groan. "Kei-chan was staring at me... I don't know why but I suddenly got all flustered, I couldn't breathe... I just... I lost it."
"Silly Mi-chan." Rena softly murmured, shaking her head and tousling Mion's hair like a mother would a child. Mion stared through her fingers and noticed that Rena's smile had turned extremely gentle and almost playful. "You're so silly Mi-chan, you really are. It's okay though, I understand why you're so frazzled. Do you want to talk about it or would you like me to go back inside and stall for you?"
"N-No... Um... Would you stay... with me?" Mion grimaced at how strange the words tasted on her tongue when she spoke them, but she was suddenly quite terrified of being left alone outside. Rena just stood there, seeming to understand her worry and gave her older friend her silent company until she could speak. Playing with her collar absently after a few moments of this silence, Mion kicked at the ground nervously and murmured a quiet, "Uh... Rena, I'm... I'm sorry... I should be a bit more tougher."
"Mi-chan, don't talk like that. You're the strongest person I know." Rena brushed off the apology with a wave of her hand, but her eyes had transformed into chips of ice as she stared down her friend. Her voice was rather firm as she scolded her classmate, each word spoken slowly and quietly, "You didn't hesitate to put yourself in front of Takano for us, you didn't think twice about believing in Rika when she came to you and Satoko about what was going on, and you protected all of us well beyond your 'duty' as a club leader. Trust me Mi-chan, if you got any tougher I'd start thinking you weren't human. You're girly, that's a good thing, a good thing."
"Me? Girly? What are you blind?" Mion looked down at herself in alarm, examining every inch of herself that she could see. The plain pink skirt that hung to her knees and the white t-shirt with the red tie that really didn't match well with the yellow vest she wore overtop. She couldn't see where Rena was coming from, and her confusion registered plainly on her face. "Rena, I basically should have been born a guy."
"So why did you take that doll that Keiichi-kun gave you?" Rena questioned sharply, catching Mion completely off guard with her abrupt change of tone. Her eyes flashed with annoyance and she turned entirely to face Mion, hands gently holding her friend by the wrists. She continued in a much more controlled voice then when she realized she'd scared her, "As much as you try to deny it, you are a girl Mi-chan. If it scares you, being feminine I mean, then no one is telling you that you have to be. I'm sure that Keiichi-kun loves you just the way you are, and he knows exactly who you are. Being 'girly' has nothing to do with it."
"H-He doesn't love me!" Mion burst out quite more loudly than she intended, and her face returned to the bright crimson hue it had been before. Jerking her hands from Rena's grip, she tried to cover her face as her breathing shortened again and left her dizzy. She was really beginning to dislike these strange feelings, even though she understood them all too well. "Gah!"
Rena shook her head in a strangely resigned fashion, but she didn't leave Mion's side. Instead she leaned patiently on the wall, waiting for Mion to get control of herself again. To her surprise, it didn't take nearly as long this time, she was under control in a few seconds though her blush had failed to disappear entirely. Folding her hands together demurely, Rena raised her eyes to the sky and spoke gently, "Mi-chan is in love, I know this, and I know that you know it too even if you don't want to admit it. Mi-chan has nothing to be embarrassed about though, because it's a good thing. You should tell him."
"Tell him that I... I..." Mion cut herself off quickly, and shook her head as fiercely as she could without giving herself whiplash. It felt so strange to say the words she'd always thought aloud, even if only Rena was around to hear her. She started playing with her collar again, tugging on the white fabric nervously, unable to look up from the ground. "I don't... I can't tell him that. I'm too scared."
"It just proves that it's true." Rena replied cheekily, earning a confused look from her friend. Giggling softly, she straightened Mion's collar for her and explained in a warm tone, "You're scared of rejection and that proves how much you care. You think 'What will I do if he doesn't tell me he loves me too?', and 'How could I tell him without looking stupid?'. Things like that just prove that you care so much that it hurts. It's a good thing to hurt, and to feel pleasure, especially when you're in love. I understand being scared too, so I promise to stay beside you and help as much as I can, I do. If you ever need me Mi-chan, Rena will never be far from you. I'm your friend, but more importantly, I love you Mi-chan. You mean the world to me, all of my friends do, so I'll be sure to take care of you when you need it, because I know you'd do the same. Okay?"
"Rena–" Mion began quietly, deeply touched by the sincerity in her friend's voice, and the maternal gleam in her eyes as she held out her hands to offer her support. She stopped abruptly however when she saw another concerned face looking at her from the doorway, and her breath caught in her throat. All of her courage that Rena had managed to muster together disappeared and she could feel her knees actually knock. 'He's got the worst ever timing!'
"Keiichi-kun, thank goodness you're here!" Rena burst out, turning to the startled boy as if she'd known that he'd followed the two girls outside. Mion just stood there, dumbfounded as Rena rushed up to him, stood on tiptoe and whispered something urgently into his ear. When she pulled away Keiichi only looked more anxious than he had before, and Rena continued hurriedly, "I'll tell Miss Chie that you took her to the clinic!" Without another word to either teen, she took off and Mion was very sure she heard her cackling as she ran back into the school.
"I'm going to guess that everything Rena just said was a lie and that she wanted us to be alone." Keiichi remarked dryly when Mion refused to look at him or speak after a strained few minutes of silence. Smiling ruefully, he ran a hand through his hair and took Rena's position of leaning on the wall, watching Mion carefully to make sure she hadn't fallen ill. Her face was still a bright cherry colour and she was toying with her hair, her hands and her shirt but she didn't look as though she was about to collapse from a fever and that calmed him. "You okay?"
"I've... been better." Mion allowed, wincing when Keiichi tilted his head and frowned at her obvious lie. She cursed her luck and found herself wishing that she could lie to him as easily as she used to, but those days had long since passed. She wasn't sure when it had become difficult for her to be near him when she was alone, but it had definitely worsened after their victory over Takano and her near end from the woman's gun.
Keiichi pocketed his hands and looked away, face flushing unconsciously when his mind went over the words he had heard Mion and Rena exchanging. It hadn't surprised him to hear Rena scolding Mion, but it had shocked him to hear Mion's soft and hesitant protests. She'd never sounded so unsure in all the time he had known her, and though he knew that Rena was doing it for Mion's sake, it didn't stop him from wanting to step in between them and ward her off. 'She got all uncomfortable and I just wanted to take her away... I mean, I've always been protective of the girls but this is different...'
As much as he wanted to stay to make sure that she'd be alright, he found himself wondering if she'd do better with him gone. Her words rung coldly in his head, confirming what Shion had told him and it all but killed any and all hopes that had surfaced from yesterday's talk. She was in love with her boyfriend and was trying to get over her embarrassment to tell him. 'Damn... Shion was totally right on the money, I can't believe it...'
He winced as he remembered the promise he had made to Shion, to not interfere in any way, shape or form with Mion's love life, even if it killed him. She hadn't given him an option, warning him fiercely that if she found out he did anything to screw up her sister's relationship, she'd make him wish he'd never moved to Hinamizawa. He'd made that promise after a moment of hesitation, and he knew then that he'd sealed fate. He wouldn't go back on his word to Shion, but at the same time he was having great difficulty controlling his emotions around a visibly disturbed Mion.
"Uh... Kei-chan, would you... Um... I kind of... C-Can we..." Mion cursed herself violently for stammering over her words, when he was standing right in front of her, and she realized with a jolt that she wasn't looking at him. Forcing her eyes up from the dirt, she found her courage and blurted out, "I really want to talk to you about something important! So, um, I... Would you mind coming with me to Okinomiya later so we could, er, talk in private? Just you and me?"
"Oh... Uh, sure, I know this awesome ramen place not too far from Angel Mort if you want to make a date of it." Keiichi realized what he'd said too late, and he hit himself viciously in the forehead with a closed palm. Mion's mouth had popped open at the word 'date', and her face registered nothing but shock and numbness. Rushing to fix his words and hating himself for every mistake he was making, the boy continued sheepishly, "I-I-I didn't meant a date date, just you and me going to eat, that's all! W-We don't even need to get food if you want, I mean it's totally stupid to even say that, we can just–"
"Shut up, will you?" Mion giggled softly, quite amused by his embarrassment even though it was fuelling her own. His face was as red as her tie and she noticed that it was him this time that refused to look her in the face. Sidling just a little closer, she elbowed him in the stomach and added softly, "It sounds nice. I've got some stuff to do tonight, so we can go tomorrow?"
"Y-Yeah... I'll uh, pick you up around five or something then?"
"That's great, I'll be waiting for you." Mion smiled again, and Keiichi was struck by how gentle the expression seemed on her face, not at all tomboyish or smug like he was used to. She brushed by him, and his arm stung when her skin whispered against his own, even through his sleeve. She disappeared back into the classroom, leaving him alone outside the school, holding the place where she'd touched him with a completely mystified look painted onto his face.
Keiichi groaned softly and raised a hand to cover his face, clearly hearing Shion's threatening promise ringing like a roar in his ears. She'd made it very painfully clear that she'd put up with no meddling on his part, and he could just imagine what she'd do to him once she realized that he was going out on a date with her taken sister. He could find the excuses that he'd try to explain to her, but he knew she'd never listen to a word he'd say.
'Shion is so going to kill me...'
AN
(giggles in a very fangirl-like manner) I wrote fluff to get away from the depression that Criminal Minds left me with. God I dislike that show so much right now. It just didn't seem right to me, but meh, I shouldn't ramble about that here. Ahem, so anyway... Lol, yes I had no choice but to introduce an OC here because I need a random cousin and so we have the birth of Kenji. I honestly only put a mention of a girlfriend in Tokyo because I was tempted to do another pairing if I didn't so it was a counter-measure XD I'm so horrible that way, it's really bad of me.
Hmm. Ah yesh, inspiration of this chapter is wholly due to the madness of Elephant Ears, epic music, and a random insane bout of writer's itch. Press the green button below please! 8D
Sky
