Welcome back! Here's chapter 4 of Beyond Both of Us. Hope you enjoy it!
"Well this is nice," Akihito commented. A strong wind buffeted his coat and hair to the side, a spray of rain showering him. "Guess mother nature doesn't like sarcasm."
"I can't go home in this weather!" a displeased Kuriyama yelled. She was currently shivering under the door frame, refusing to take a step out onto the wet ground. She had tried to call Sakura, but was only met with the answering machine or voice mail. "I swear, if she summoned a rain youmu or something just for this to happen..."
Hearing Kuriyama mumble under her breath, he pushed her back inside and closed the door. The temperature instantly became warmer, his heater running ever since they first entered. The weather forecast had said the chance of rain were below 10%. Were the chances of a storm 90% then?, Akihito thought. It was just his luck that the day he finally convinced Kuriyama visit, a storm popped up out of nowhere. Whether it was good or bad luck had yet to be decided, though. He took a side glance at the shivering Kuriyama who was fiddling on her phone. She was probably calling Sakura again or complaining on her blog.
"Both," she answered his thoughts. Akihito laughed it off and sat down on the floor. It was only then did he realized just how soaking wet he was. He gingerly peeled his jacket off and quickly threw it into the laundry in the bathroom. His other clothes weren't spared either.
"Ugh, and this was a new sweater too." Sulking, he made to take it off, but froze as he remembered that Kuriyama was still in the room. She was still fixed on her phone, but was also quite aware of the stripping senpai before her. "I'm, uh, gonna take a shower if you don't mind..."
"It is your house senpai," she said. Her head was buried under her locks of hair, her face hidden.
Quickly, he grabbed some clothes and made his way to the bathroom, closing and locking the door. Once she heard the click of the lock, Kuriyama looked up, her face flushed in pink. Her fingers had stopped typing on her blog the second Akihito reached for his sweater. It took all of her will power not to run out of the door right then and there... or do something worse. She shook her head vigorously, trying to get the image of a topless Akihito out of her head. The sound of the shower starting didn't help. In a hopeless attempt to ignore him, Kuriyama browsed about on her blog about gardening. Pictures of roses didn't help either.
After a hot shower, Akihito was refreshed. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he made for the door. The second he put his hand on the knob, a voice brought him to his senses.
"Senpai, you've been in there for more than an hour," Kuriyama stated. "Are you alright?" With a start, Akihito jumped back, completely forgetting about Kuriyama who was waiting outside the door.
Calming himself down, Akihito began dressing and answered. "Y-yeah! Just dressing up, I'll be out soon."
"If you say so."
Minutes of silence passed between them, both parties feeling too awkward to speak. When he was fully dressed, Akihito stepped out, his hair a mess from trying to dry it. He wore a long-sleeved shirt and fitted sweat pants. He looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with Kuriyama. Looking outside his window, he sees that the storm was still raging outside. The windows rattled from the wind, the occasional whistles of strong gusts sounding off outside.
Kuriyama on the other hand was fixed on Akihito. She stared at him, entranced by the outline of his body that his thin shirt showed. He wasn't on Hiromi's physique level, but Akihito was quite toned himself. It was more than likely due to running away from youmus, but he had a build sufficient for a spirit warrior. Her cheeks heated up, realizing how creepy she was being. She tore her eyes away from Akihito, hoping that he didn't notice her staring. Fortunately he didn't, but he did notice her flush face. Worried, he crouches to her level and feels her forehead.
"Are you sick?" he inquired. "Is your anemia acting up?" Kuriyama froze the second his warm hand made contact with her forehead. Usually she would jerk back and shout in surprise, but his gentleness captured her attention. She looked into his eyes, noticing the genuine worry he was showing. Her shoulders grew less tense, a funny feeling bubbling up in her. Their faces were less than a foot away from each other, both of them staring intently at one another.
Akihito's breath got caught, unable to break the connection of his hand to her smooth skin. He felt the heat on her face rise, but he could tell that it wasn't from an illness. Feeling his own face heat up, Akihito bit his lip, pondering as to what he should do. The opportunity was right there, not a shred of resistance from her. If anything, her soft lips seemed to call him. The red frames of her glasses framed her twinkling eyes, a torrent of emotions swelling and crashing within them. He was sure his eyes showed just the same. Placing his other hand on the floor to support him, Akihito slowly leaned in, both of their eyes lulling to a gentle close. Their hearts raced, both being unable to comprehend what was happening.
BOOM!
A flash of lightning brightened the room. Once it disappeared, all of the lights in the room disappeared as well. Akihito was tackled down, choking a bit as the air in him was pushed out. Thankfully, his head was met with the soft carpeted floor. He winced on impact, but otherwise was uninjured. A foreign weight was on top of him, the figure quivering helplessly. Kuriyama was laying on him, grasping his shirt for dear life. Her face was buried into his chest, only looking up when Akihito called her name. She had a dazed look, but her eyes showed a tinge of fear.
Without a word, Akihito patted her head and gave her a reassuring smile. Kuriyama put her head back down, eyes closed in an attempt to calm down. The room was pitch black and silent. Akihito sat up a little and continued to comfort Kuriyama. He held her in one arm, propping her to sit on his thigh. They stayed like that for awhile, not a word exchanged. Though a bit bummed from losing his chance on a kiss, Akihito was content with holding her close to him. He was glad that she trusted him enough to be this close to her. Now the next step was to get her talking.
"Kuriyama-san," he gently called. She responded by only burying herself closer to him. He tried calling her a few more times, but was met with no response. Having enough of her stubbornness, he spoke with a stern and final tone. "Kuriyama-san. I can't help you if you don't tell me anything."
She whispered a muffled response, but Akihito caught the usual tone and deemed it to be another one of her "unpleasant" remarks. Sighing, he brought up his courage and took action. Sliding one hand under her knees, and another under her back, her carried her bridal style and set her on his bed in a sitting position. A blanket was thrown on her, halting her resistance. He sat on the floor in front of her with a stubborn pout on. His face said it all: Tell me or I'll be sad.
"This is unpleasant..." Kuriyama wrapped the blanket around her tighter, smelling Akihito's scent on it. She took a few breathes to calm down, finding no other way around from explaining herself. Reluctantly, she started. "The dark... it reminds me of the Hollow Shadow. When Yui was... when Yui was captured by it, a swirl of darkness surrounded us. Everything was black and I couldn't see anything. I was scared, more than I've ever had been..."
She hugged her knees, the blanket completely enveloping all but her face. Her body still shook lightly, looking the most defenseless that he's ever seen her as. A sense of protectiveness surged within Akihito, his body moving on its own.
He sat next to her and threw the blanket on both of them. Swiftly pulling her into an embrace, he nestled he face into the crook of her neck, whispering reassuring words into her ear. They sat there for about an hour, the storm's presence outside being drowned out by their content breathing. When Akihito looked up at his clock, it was already nine. Kuriyama followed his eyes to the clock as well, but showed no reaction to the time. She only buried her face back into his chest.
"Would you like to stay over for the night, Kuriyama-san?" Akihito offered. She took up the offer and asked if she could wash up. He smiled at her childish look and offered her some clothes.
Reluctantly, Akihito let her go and gave her some clothes. Luckily, he had a pair of sweat pants from his middle school days that would fit her. But as for shirts, his smallest still would reach to her mid-thighs. She still accepted them though, explaining that Sakura and her usually wore oversized shirts for sleep. The images in Akihito's mind turned his face red.
Laying a few blankets on the floor for him to sleep on, Akihito went over the events of today. In the beginning, his only motive really was to offer Kuriyama some food. But as the events went on, a fuzzy feeling made him push his boundaries around her. And now, after experiencing her body heat and soft skin, he was obsessed. When he wrapped his hands around her small frame, it felt so right. When he buried his face into the crook of her neck, her scent was intoxicating. It was a surprise that he was even able to let go of her. Now he pitifully sat on the floor, missing her touch.
When she came out of the shower, he gawked at the innocent look she posed. She fiddled with her fingers, a blush on her face. The shirt was big on her, as expected, and the sweatpants passed her ankles. With her red framed glasses topping off the look, she was innocently beautiful.
"W-what?" she stuttered. Kuriyama was completely aware of Akihito's stare, making her both proud and embarrassed. She notice that he had lit up a few candles and scattered them around the room as makeshift light sources, but they also proved to hint at a double meaning. Trying to ignore those thoughts, she checks her phone, planning to inform Sakura of how she was sleeping.
Don't worry Mirai. Just make sure to control your urges. - Sakura
Deleting the message instantly, Kuriyama shoved the phone into the bottom of her bag. With a huff, she laid on the bed and wrapped herself in the blanket protectively. "Goodnight."
Surprised by her sudden change of attitude, Akihito blinked in wonder. He wondered if he did something wrong, but was too tired to pursue the subject. Staring at the ceiling, he waited for Kuriyama's breath to steady. After a few minutes of waiting, he deemed her asleep. Going around the house, he blew out the candles, dark spots appearing with every quenched light.
When everything was out, he made his way back to his area. He bent to lay back down, but his shirt was pulled to the side. Kuriyama grasped the end of his shirt, tugging it towards her. She lifts her head up and stares him in the eyes.
"Unpleasant..." she weakly uttered.
Akihito's knees go weak and finds himself crawling onto the bed. His heart started beating like crazy, but it subsided just as quickly once he embraced her. A content smile curled on his lips, burying his face into her soft hair, inhaling her scent. Wrapping the blanket around them, they snuggled into each other, the sounds of the storm fading as they drifted asleep.