Pinkshuchan: Hey guys! Pinkshuchan here! Glad that everyone is still enjoying the story so far. I try my best with making it as good as possible since it's a fanfic of a pairing I really like from this series. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Misunderstandings
The next day started off a bit better for the two boys. Kai was the first to get up, considering he had a nightmare similar to the other night wake him up at around 2:30 am and had a hard time trying to return to sleep after that. As he walked to the kitchen, he looked down at Aichi, who was still asleep in the futon (Aichi insisted that he sleep on the futon considering that he was a guest in Kai's apartment), snuggled into the blankets like it was a cocoon. He was amazed with how well the blue haired boy could sleep despite everything that happened yesterday. He was probably a heavy sleeper. Kai couldn't help but be a little envious of that. Maybe if he were also a heavy sleeper, the nightmares wouldn't bother him so much. He then walked into the kitchen, putting the black apron on and began getting breakfast started. He decided to make a Japanese style breakfast for a change, and it helped that they bought the ingredients for that the other day.
He was halfway through cooking everything when he heard a soft yawn nearby. Aichi had just woken up by the smell wafting through his senses. He sat up; the blanket slipping off his shoulders, exposing the blue pajamas they bought for him yesterday, while rubbing one eye. He looked up at the brunet, who was currently boiling some salmon on a pan.
"Morning…" Aichi groggily greeted him.
Kai glanced at Aichi through the corner of his eye before bringing his attention back to the fillets. "Looks like you slept well."
"Did you?"
The brunet was unsure as to how to respond to that. He decided to keep quiet about the topic. As if he would tell someone he had only met yesterday about the nightmares he had constantly been getting. "Breakfast will be done in a bit. Do whatever until then."
So he said, but Aichi was not sure on what to do. He didn't know how humans entertained themselves while they waited. He looked around the room, figuring out what it was he could do. The room was filled with familiar furniture like the bed, a desk, and a small bookshelf. However there were a few things he was not completely familiar with. He learned the big flat black box was something called a 'television' and that you turn it on with something called a 'remote'. He picked up the remote and remembering how Kai turned it on once, pressed the button that needed to be pressed.
A man in his 40s was presented on the screen, talking about the weather for the day. Aichi had asked Kai the night before when this came on how humans could predict the weather. He remembered the brunet told him that it had something to do with air pressure and that those trained in the study known as 'meteorologists' can determine the weather based on a certain air pressure or something like that. His memory on the topic was a little fuzzy and it was mostly because Aichi couldn't understand the terms properly though.
He pressed the button he needed to press to 'change channels' as Kai had explained. There were so many different things on the TV he was not sure which one he should stick to. After going through around fifteen different channels, he found one that caught his eye.
Strange looking warriors dressed in the same weird attire of different colours with masks that cover their entire face and being constantly called 'rangers' were fighting some unusual looking monster. They kept shouting out random words as they fought the monster, though it appeared the attacks were affected. Aichi was confused. What kind of thing was this? He was told among the many things he learned about TV was that some things shown were real and other times they weren't. He cocked his head to the side as he watched the phenomenon happening on screen. Was this one of the things TVs show that were fictional? He had to admit that he found the TV to be one of the most interesting things about Earth.
Aichi was so occupied with what was shown on TV that he hadn't realized that Kai had finished cooking breakfast. The brunet called him a few times before finally getting his attention, and they began putting the futon away and setting up the small table before setting the food down. The blue haired male was in awe with what was placed before him; broiled salmon fillet with miso soup and steamed white rice, all with a nice warm cup of tea for both of them.
"Thank you for the food!"
They began eating. There was no form of conversation between them. Aichi had tried the night before to make any form of discussion but it ended in vain. He was now definitely sure; Kai was not the talkative type.
As for Kai himself, he never made conversation while eating. Sure, there were moments where he would be invited to eat dinner with Miwa and Tsukiko but he never had to talk unless addressed to. However, with him and Aichi being the only ones and the blue haired male was a bit more sociable than he was, he was forced to constantly give signals to show that he was not interested.
It was certain; this would be a long month for the both of them.
After they had finished eating, Kai took the dishes and began cleaning them while Aichi went back to watching TV. When he was done, he noticed Aichi was no longer there. He then heard water running in the bathroom and figured the blue haired boy was there washing his hands or something. He was about to seat himself on the bed when a familiar object that rested on the desk caught his eye.
Aichi's pendant.
Kai walked over to the desk and picked the piece of neckwear up. The metal material that it was made of was smooth to touch as it laid in his hand. He also had to admire how well done the dragon carving looked, for it felt like the dragon could pop out of there with ease. The ruby that rested in the middle glittered from the sunlight reflected through the window. The new chain that they bought to replace the old one perfectly complimented the craftsmanship of the medallion.
The question, however, was why images similar to the pendant's design appeared in his dream? What was the semblance of the dragon and the ruby? He stared straight at the pendant, thinking he could figure it out just by looking at it. Sadly, he got nothing. It was nothing more than a regular pendant.
"Something about my pendant that interests you?"
Kai looked up to see Aichi standing there. He looked neither annoyed or angry. He just smiled with a glimmer of curiosity within cerulean eyes. The brunet was so absorbed in figuring out the connection between his dream and the pendant he didn't even realize Aichi had even left the bathroom. Kai looked back down at the pendant.
"This pendant is something important to you, isn't it?" he asked, "You were pale and terrified that moment when you thought you lost it yesterday. Can you tell me what it is?"
Aichi averted his gaze as he went deep in his train of thought. "To be honest, I don't know much about this pendant. The only thing I could find out was that it was a pendant from the Red Winged Clan, a clan that no one knows exists anymore or not."
"Then why do you have it? Why is it so important to you?"
"I don't know." Aichi turned around so his back faced Kai, wrapping his arms around himself. "I just woke up one day with it in my possession. I don't even know why I cherish it as much as I do but there's just something… I don't know what." He looked back at Kai. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," was all Kai responded with as he placed the pendant back onto the desk.
The blue haired boy simply smiled, not bothering to question the older male. He decided to change the topic; he asked how humans wash themselves. Kai noticed that Aichi was asking how to use the bathroom. He could understand why; different customs for different people, and Aichi could already tell that things were a lot different compared to living in the Cloudlands.
He explained to Aichi on how humans, more specifically the people here in Japan, wash themselves. The younger male was a quick learner and it only took Kai one time to explain how. Assured that Aichi understood, Kai left the bathroom so the blue haired male could wash himself and went to watch some more TV.
Kai was watching some random variety show that just happened to be airing on the channel the TV was left on when he realized that Aichi didn't take some clean clothes with him. He dug through the clothes he bought Aichi and picked out a shirt, pants, a pair of socks, and of course underwear and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked.
There was no answer.
He knocked again.
Still no answer.
Why wasn't Aichi answering? Maybe he'll respond to Kai's voice. "Hey, I brought you some clean clothes!"
There was still only silence.
This was getting serious. Why wasn't Aichi responding? Wasting no time, he opened the door when he suddenly found himself being knocked down to the ground. It happened so fast that he was not able to process it. As he regained his senses, he let out a small groan as the pain of falling had finally caught up to him.
"Sorry," he heard Aichi's voice on top of him, "I kept hearing knocking and assumed you wanted to use the bath so I was rushing to get out. But I seemed to have stepped on something and I slipped."
Kai leaned up slightly to see what it was Aichi slipped on. He saw a familiar yellow bar on the bathroom floor. He understood now. Aichi must have dropped the bar of soap before he went to soak in the tub and stepped on it unknowingly as he rushed to the bathroom door.
He felt Aichi trying to get up from on top just to slip and fall right back down, landing on the brunet once again. Kai let out another pained groan. He had never thought of Aichi to be the clumsy type. The blue haired boy tried getting up again but he once again fell down, differently this time. When he first fell down and the first time he tried to get himself back up, he kept falling so his head rested on Kai's shoulder. This time, however, not only was he able to keep his head up, but he was propped up just enough so the two had eye contact with each other.
And that was when Kai realized something.
Here he was, lying face up underneath a wet Aichi who had just gotten out of the bath, clad in only a white towel wrapped around his chest and covering right down to his upper thigh. With the way he looked, Aichi could be easily mistaken for a girl, as if it weren't obvious enough the night they first met. This was a very awkward situation they were in and Kai knew he needed to help get the blue haired male off of him but there was just something that kept him from doing so.
He couldn't keep his eyes off the being on top of him. He didn't know what it was; somehow he found the boy to be absolutely breathtaking as he stared at him. Small droplets of water stuck onto creamy skin, glittering from the light. Short blue hair was still damp, making it look longer than it was. And what was this sweet scent wafting into his senses? It didn't smell like the shampoo Kai kept. The longer he stared, the stranger the brunet felt. He could feel an unusual heat consuming his entire body. Why did he feel this way just by staring at someone he had only met yesterday wearing nothing but a towel?
Things couldn't get more awkward than this.
"Hey, Kai! I've been calling your cell about five times! Why didn't you-?!"
Kai whipped his head in the direction of the voice that had just appeared in his apartment and mentally cursed his luck. As if he wasn't already in an embarrassing situation already, Miwa had to show up and make it worse. Why does he so called best friend always appear during some of the worst times?
It wasn't just Kai that noticed Miwa's appearance. Aichi had also turned his head to see the blond standing there at the doorway, shock clearly shown on his face. The blue haired male realized the situation and his face turned red. Here he was on top of Kai in only a towel still soaking wet from his bath. He let out a little shriek before he dashed back into the bathroom, taking the clothes that Kai brought him with him, slamming the door behind him.
With the extra weight no longer on him, Kai stood up. His bed clothes were now soaked but that was a minor inconvenience compared to the grinning idiot standing in the doorway. Teal eyes narrowed. He knew that grin; nothing good happens when that grin appears.
"Wow Kai!" Miwa remarked; blue eyes shining with whimsy as his grin grew to the point where it could rival the Cheshire Cat, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think the day would come when my best friend becomes a man," He pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears. "My little Kai has grown up."
"And just what do you mean by that?" Kai huffed, crossing his arms.
Miwa walked over and put his arm around his friend. "You know what I mean!" He gestured to the bathroom door. "So, uh, double checking. Is your new friend a girl or a guy?"
"He's a guy. Wh-?!"
"Ah! Okay! It was hard to tell. To be honest, I never thought you swung that way. Not that I care, mind you! If you prefer batting to the other team then I'm cool with it! Well, unless you try making a move on me then I would be deeply concerned. You know, because I see you more like a brother-!"
Now realizing the misunderstanding, Kai jabbed the blond right at the ribs with his elbow. Miwa let go of Kai as he wrapped his arms on his stomach. "It's not like that at all," Kai explained bluntly, "Whatever sick fantasy you have up in that brain of yours; he and I weren't doing what you think we were doing. We don't have that kind of a relationship."
Despite being in pain, that giant grin never left Miwa's face. He snickered at Kai's comment. "Right… You're not really convincing me with that."
The brunet didn't understand what his chuckling friend was on about until he looked down at something Miwa was pointing at. Kai's entire face turned scarlet. Standing at attention for all to see was an obvious bulge in Kai's groin area. The blond burst out into laughter upon seeing his best friend's reaction. Kai rushed over to get some clean, dry clothes to change into and held it as cover before glaring back at Miwa, who was now rolling on the floor laughing with glee and crying in pain from the jab in his stomach at the same time.
It was then that Aichi came out of the bathroom fully dressed. Kai made no hesitation as he pushed past the blue haired boy and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Aichi was not sure what was wrong with Kai, but the bigger question was regarding the blond lying on the ground. Miwa noticed the younger boy looking down at him and stood back up, trying to calm down the few giggles he still had in him.
"Yo!" he greeted the blue haired boy.
Aichi cocked his head to the side. What did 'yo' mean? Was it a greeting? Unsure of what to do, the blue haired boy simply raised his hand a little and gave a tiny wave. He then remembered the scene that the blond saw and bowed before him.
"I'm so sorry you had to see such a disgraceful sight!" Aichi apologized, "That wasn't supposed to happen!"
Miwa could see how panicked the blue haired boy was and tried to calm him down. "It's okay! To be fair, I'm partially to blame as well. I should've knocked first. Though honestly I've never seen Kai invite someone into his apartment let alone use the bathroom," He walked closer, observing the blue haired male. "I hate to be interrogating you like this, but what exactly is your relationship with Kai?"
"Kai's only letting me stay here until I find another place to stay at."
"Really? You two looked pretty intimate with each other when I walked in. Heck, Kai even had a-!"
Before he could finish that sentence, the blond felt a smack on the head. Kai had already come out of the bathroom, dressed in clean, dry clothes. It also seemed like his little 'problem' had already been resolved as well. The expression on his face clearly showed that he was still pissed at Miwa.
"He's here only because he has no place to stay in the meantime and nothing more," the brunet stated.
Groaning in pain from the sudden smack, Miwa rubbed his head as he stared at his angered friend. Judging from the blue haired boy's innocent expression and the fact that Kai was trying to pretend that incident didn't happen, the blond figured that what he was saying was possibly true. He gave an apology for misunderstanding, even though his assumption was completely justified, and it was decided that the whole situation was best left forgotten.
"I just realized," Miwa began, "I haven't introduced myself, have I? Sorry about that. I'm Miwa," He held out his hand for Aichi to take.
Aichi shook Miwa's hand. "Nice to meet you. My name is Aichi."
Not long after Aichi introduced himself did Miwa's cheerful grin turn into a serious frown. "Aichi, huh?"
"Yes," the blue haired boy responded, "Is there a problem?"
Not long after he was asked that did the blond's grin return. "No, not at all. Though I'm curious; have we by any chance met before?" He then realized what he sounded like and got a little flustered. "I'm not trying to pick you up or anything; I'm genuinely curious! You seem familiar!"
The blue haired boy shook his head. "I'm sure we haven't. I'm… not even from this city."
"Really?" Miwa sighed, "I see. I'm probably thinking about someone else then."
"Miwa," Kai interrupted the conversation, annoyance clear through his expression, "Why are you even here anyways? Is it so important you had to use your spare key to get in?"
Aichi was confused. "Spare key?"
The blond noticed the younger male's confusion and decided to clear it up. "Well, Kai wanted to live on his own so Mom helped him with the money so he could live here."
"Oh!" Aichi clapped; his face lit up as he felt like he understood, "So you guys are brothers!"
"Not exactly," said Miwa as he scratched his head, "Kai and I aren't related by blood. However, we have been together for so long it does feel like we are real brothers. My mom has always been there to help take care of Kai too. Especially after-!"
Kai cleared his throat, the attention back at him. "I'm right here. You still haven't answered my question."
Miwa sheepishly grinned. "Sorry about that, buddy. Mom wants you to come over for a bit. She wants to talk to you about something."
"Is it anything she could just tell me on the phone?"
"Highly doubt it. She's busy with a new project right now so she couldn't come over to see you herself, but she said she wanted to talk with you about something in person."
Kai sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "How soon does she want me to come over?"
"She said as soon as possible."
While the brunet did not hate Tsukiko, it annoyed him how much of a nagging mother she could be, and she wasn't even his mom. He knew it was going to be a pain to see her, but he figured he should probably go see her and get it over with sooner rather than later. "I'll go see her now." He went to put his shoes on. He then remembered that Aichi was still standing there. Kai turned towards him. "Hey, you'll be okay here by yourself right?"
Aichi nodded. "Yeah. I'm still waiting for someone at home to contact me."
The brunet nodded back. The moment he was ready, he and Miwa left, leaving Aichi alone in the apartment. The blue haired boy was surprised with how much bigger the place felt with only him there. He had to admit he felt a little uneasy being here by himself. He wondered if this was how Kai felt every day. Aichi concluded that it would be impossible. If the brunet truly was uncomfortable alone in his own apartment he wouldn't have chose to live here in the first place.
For the first time since he got here, Aichi began to fall into deep thoughts about the whole situation. He was truly lucky for things to happen the way they did since he fell into Earth. He highly doubted any other human would've been so generous to the winged being if they had found him instead of Kai. Despite first impressions, the brunet was a really nice guy. A little harsh but he could've been worse. Aichi was really grateful for him to help him.
However, he knew he shouldn't take this kindness for granted. He already felt bad for the burden he was putting on Kai with just one day. There was no way he could last for a whole month. He had already decided that the moment someone from the Gold Winged Clan contacts him, he will leave to wherever he could stay for the rest of the time he had. And as for the human he had befriended, he could go back to how his life was before the winged being had invaded it. That is if nothing bad has happened. Aichi laid down on the bed, patiently waiting for his opportunity to contact home, thoughts of how good it would feel to hear a familiar voice calling him clouding his mind as he slowly started to fall back asleep.
XxXxX
It wasn't long when Kai and Miwa got to Miwa's house. The brunet was not happy to be dragged along to see Tsukiko, especially since if it was really so urgent it wouldn't be a big issue for the blonde woman to come see him herself. Heck, it wouldn't have hurt if she just called him on his cell. Well whatever it was she needed, he hoped it wouldn't take very long or be a waste of time. He felt rather uneasy leaving Aichi alone in his apartment. It was unlikely that it would happen, but he didn't want to risk leaving the blue haired boy alone if those men from before were to find the apartment.
A question formed in Kai's mind; why did he care so much? He had only known the winged boy for about two days now. It wasn't enough time for any form of relationship between them to form aside from mere acquaintances. But it was funny. He felt it before yesterday as well, but something within Kai's subconscious was telling him that he and Aichi might've known each other before sometime in the past. However, the brunet found that idea to be completely asinine. He knew there was no way the two of them had met before. Besides, Aichi said that he had never been on Earth prior to these recent events. By that logic, there was no chance of them ever meeting before. That sadly did not stop these feelings of familiarity from tingling in his gut though.
Miwa broke the brunet out of his thoughts. "So, shall we go in?" Kai decided to stop thinking about it for now. He had more important issues to take care of, such as checking with Tsukiko and go see what she wanted.
The moment they went inside, Miwa led Kai to the basement where Tsukiko worked. The brunet knew he would never get used to what laid dormant there. Within the giant underground room were hundreds upon hundreds of various attire scattered around; tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, gloves, hats, jewelry, many different accessories, even wigs and masks. The colours were so vibrant that they stood out in this dark, dull looking room. From the far back, they could hear the rumbling of a machine working at its hardest. The two boys passed the many rows of clothing until they saw the person in question they were looking for running a piece of red fabric through a sewing machine.
Tsukiko worked as a seamstress, but she didn't specialize in casual wear. What she made were cosplays, some of them existing characters that were popular among the public, others were unique characters of her creation. She always showed an enthusiastic attitude towards her job, and the moment her magic fingers touched material, she would usually never stop until she had either finished her job or if she needed to take food or bathroom breaks. There had been moments when she would go a full week without sleep. It would have to be important if she needed to talk to someone while in the middle of work.
"Hey Mom!" Miwa called out to the blonde woman, "Kai's here!"
"Give me a minute," she responded; her eyes glued to the job at hand as she continued to sew. It took her a few minutes before she was finished putting together what looked like a tube of red fabric. Kai assumed by the size and look of it that it was a sleeve for something. Once Tsukiko was done, she looked over at the brunet; a smile graced on her ruby lips. However, that was not her usual cheerful smile. Rather, this smile felt forced as it stretched her cheek muscles.
No doubt about it; she was pissed.
"Toshiki, so good to see you," she greeted the brunet, stretching each syllable of each word. She then looked over at Miwa. "Taishi, be a dear and get me something to eat; something light please."
Miwa complied. He could tell however that food was not the biggest thing in her mind at the moment. No, he knew that it had a hidden meaning; one that said 'Please leave the two of us alone.' But before he went back upstairs, he leaned close to Kai's ear and whispered, "Good luck, buddy. You'll need it."
The moment the blond male was gone, it was just Kai and Tsukiko in the room. Kai's expression was blank, though he wondered what had happened to make the older woman so angry. With Miwa's last words to him, it implied that it was something the brunet himself did to get her this riled up. As for what that was, well he was certain he was going to find out shortly.
Tsukiko sat there, her smile not faltering in the slightest. The air around her was dark, giving off a dangerous and disturbing vibe. She was silent for the first little bit, causing Kai to feel a little uncomfortable and intimidated by her presence.
"So," she finally spoke, "How have you been?"
Kai was unsure what the blonde woman was thinking starting everything with small talk. However, the brunet learned from past experiences that it wouldn't be smart to make her more agitated than she already was. His hands tucked in his jeans pockets, he gave a short shrug. "Fine, I guess."
"Excited for your birthday in about a month?"
"Meh." It had slipped from his mind that his birthday would be soon, what with him trying to keep a winged person safe at his apartment. Not that Kai cared anyway. He would've preferred to skip the day all together if not for both Tsukiko and Miwa insisting that they celebrate it.
The older woman finally stood up. Kai flinched a bit the moment she moved. He didn't know what she had planned to do. Heck, he still didn't know why she was angry. She opened her mouth. Was this it? Was she going to say the reason why she was pissed?
"You are a good boy, Toshiki."
Kai was dumbfounded. Was that all she wanted to say? This couldn't be it. There was no way Tsukiko would have had him dragged here just to say how much of a 'good boy' he was. However, he decided to keep quiet and let her continue, for it looked like she wanted to say more.
"You already do as you are told and you are always well behaved," she continued, "Granted, I do wish you were a little more sociable but I can't complain. As you know, I have this cosplay business, which has been very tiring I will admit, but it has been enough to pay the bills and it's a job I love doing. And I do prefer for both you and Taishi to focus on your studies and graduate high school before you consider getting a job. And so because of that, I've had to pay for everything to keep ourselves comfortable.
"Now I was not comfortable with you getting your own apartment at first. Rather, I was completely against it. I still am. But in the end I gave in. So aside from managing my own house and food, I also pay for your apartment as well. I even gave you your own credit card in case of emergencies should anything happen."
She walked over to another table and picked up a few pieces of paper. "Now you may be asking 'Why do you bring this up Miss Tsukiko?' Well, the reason why I bring this up is because I have received this month's bills and… well, let's just say the stuff written down that I need to pay for are shocking."
Kai stood completely still as he realized what the whole thing was about. The credit card bills! He didn't think they would come in this early. But then he remembered that today was the 30th of July. Of course the bills would come in around this time.
"Now," Tsukiko kept going, "Let's see what the bills say what I have to pay." She cleared her throat. "It says I have to pay for double for the amount it usually costs for groceries. an entire wardrobe, and… a neck chain?! Like the ones used for necklaces?!"
The brunet averted his gaze away from her. He was not going to give in to the fear. "It was an emergency."
Without warning, Tsukiko rolled up the paper and smacked Kai on the head with it, causing the young male to wince from the impact. She leaned in, closing the distance between them, and stared Kai down. Kai could've sworn he could see hellish flames in her eyes.
"LIKE HELL IT IS!" she snapped, "WHAT WAS IT THAT COMPELLED YOU TO DO SOMETHING SO FUCKING STUPID?! Did you need new clothes? Did you want a certain neck chain? Was I not giving you enough money for food? Whatever it was, I wish you came to me and just asked!" Her expression changed as she noticed the way the brunet kept looking at her then breaking eye contact. Her eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."
No I'm not," Kai answered bluntly, but in his head he continued to curse his luck. He didn't know how the older woman would react to him letting Aichi stay with him for the whole month. And normally he would be able to hide things really well; never giving away the fact that he was flustered from this confrontation. However, this was Tsukiko Miwa interrogating him; the very woman who had been taking care of him since he was small. It had become second nature for her to see through the brunet's stubbornness. She could easily read him like one of her favourite fantasy books. Maybe if he kept quiet, he wouldn't have to tell her.
"Well if you don't want to tell me, fine," she sighed in defeat, "I mean, it's not like I'm your real mother right? What right do I have to evade in your private life even though I've always been there to take care of you? I really do wish you would open up to me more. I'm always there for you, you know."
"Am I not allowed to keep secrets?"
The older woman shook her head. "I don't mind you keeping secrets so long as it doesn't make me worry about you. I made a promise to your mother that I would watch over you and keep you safe."
At the mention of his mother, Kai kept his gaze downward as his eyes turned grim. Tsukiko frowned, knowing full well what that look was. She took a deep breath and let out a big sullen sigh. She walked over the young man in front of her and placed her hand on his shoulder. The brunet showed no reaction to the sudden touch.
"Toshiki," Tsukiko continued, "You know your mother loved you very much." Her lips rose into a melancholic smile as tears began welling into her eyes, "She would always tell me how happy it made her that you were born. She would say 'Tsukiko, my little Toshiki is my precious treasure'. How beautifully her eyes gleamed whenever she talked about you! Though when it came to your father…"
She stopped the moment she saw the young man's expression darken at the mention of his father. Tsukiko's smile faded for a couple seconds in realization before it appeared once again. "I'm sorry; we're drifting off topic. I just get a little sentimental when I think of them, you know?"
Kai just kept silent. The topic of his parents was not one he liked to talk about, whether it'd be to a stranger, a friend; he didn't even like talking about it with Tsukiko, who knew the brunet's parents very well. Memories of them sparked so many emotions within the boy and he would always find himself in pain as a result. So he was not pleased when the older woman brought them up.
The silence between them was interrupted by the creaking of the stairs. They turned to see Miwa standing there holding a plate with an omelette. He grinned sheepishly. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything." He walked over to an empty table beside Tsukiko's workplace and placed the plate there. "Oh yeah, Kai! You better hurry on home soon. You don't want to leave your little friend alone for too long."
The brunet glared at his blond friend. He had wanted to avoid bringing up Aichi in front of Tsukiko. Granted it was because he needed to get some stuff for Aichi that he used his emergency credit card but whether it made his current situation better or worse he didn't want to risk it. Besides, while Miwa might be easier to trick, Tsukiko was not.
"Friend?" He heard Tsukiko from behind, her voice in a threatening tone, "What 'friend'?"
Miwa realized his mistake upon seeing both his mom and best friend angry. He didn't think it was a big deal to bring up Kai's new friend but apparently he was wrong. If he had to guess, the fact that Kai has someone staying at his place is probably why he is in trouble. He knew he had to come up with something to fix this mess.
He continued smiling sheepishly as he began to scratch his head. "By new friend, I mean… Kai got himself a cat! Cute little thing!"
Tsukiko continued to glare. She was obviously not buying it. "I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that the apartment has a rule against pets. And even if it did allow them, Toshiki has bad luck when it comes to animals."
The blond male mentally cursed. He had forgotten the last time Kai tried getting in a close distance to the cat let alone try to pet it. It didn't end well. "Did I say cat? I meant… canary! A little blue eyed canary!"
Kai's eyes narrowed with his glare still in tact. That was sounding too close to the truth. Granted, this 'canary' was a person but he couldn't deny the fact that the person in question reminded him of a canary and did have golden wings like one.
And not to the brunet's surprise, the older woman was still not buying it. Instead, her glare intensified. If this continued, there would most likely be bloodshed in the room. Miwa glanced around the room, looking for something that could save him from his current situation. "Oh crap! I forgot to get you a drink with your lunch! Let me go get it!" He wasted no time before he dashed over to the stairs and out of the room, leaving Kai alone to deal with the furious woman.
Tsukiko turned her attention to the brunet, who continued to give off a stoic look. She crossed her arms and demanded in a cold, threatening voice; "Explain."
It seemed unlikely that Tsukiko would let Kai go back home with everything that happened. It wouldn't be such a big deal if he didn't worry about Aichi. Left with no other choice, he let out a big sigh before finally giving in. He began to tell Tsukiko everything, about how there was a kid around his age in trouble because he was not from the city and that he needed a place to stay until he could either get into contact with someone that could help him or at least until a month has passed. He neglected to tell her that the person in question was a winged being and that there was a group of guys that were after him but he decided to leave those bits out, mainly because he didn't want to be viewed as crazy for calling someone a winged being since they normally wouldn't exist, and the fact that he knew the blonde woman would worry if she were to learn that fact.
The older woman listened intentively to Kai's story. She still kept a displeased look but her eyes were starting to soften. That was a good sign, right? Once the young male had finished his story, Tsukiko sighed, keeping up her stern appearance.
"You know Toshiki," she began, "I'm still not thrilled about the fact that you misused your emergency credit card, whether it was for someone else or for yourself. If you needed more money, I would've appreciated it if you had actually talked to me about it. Like I said before; I am there for you if you need my help." Her blue eyes began to glimmer. "That being said…"
Before he could react, Kai found himself being pulled into a tight hug by the blonde woman. "OMIGODIAMSOHAPPYYOUMADEANEWFRIEND!" she spoke rapidly in excitement, "I always worried that you didn't have anyone else besides Taishi to hang out with but now you have another friend!"
Kai tried to force himself out of Tsukiko's grasp. He could feel his face turning blue as he found it difficult to breathe with her holding him like this. Since he was bigger than her, it wasn't hard to manage to break free. He tried to catch his breath before speaking up. "He and I aren't friends. I'm just helping him out for a bit."
"But you two could be friends," Tsukiko pointed out, "A lot can happen in a month." She walked over to the table with her lunch on it and sat down, picking up the utensils there. "But yes, I just wanted to see how you were doing and what the whole deal with the bills were. I wish we could continue our chat but I need to eat and then get back on my project. I've been asked to make a few prototype costumes and showcase them to Mr. Nakamura."
The brunet raised his eyebrow. "Mr. Nakamura? Isn't he the guy who owns that old theatre a few blocks away; the one who asks a request from you twice a year?"
Tsukiko nodded. "The very same," She cut a piece of the omelette and took a bite. "He's told me how much he loves my designs for costumes so he insisted that I make some for his theatre."
That was understandable. Kai had to admit that the cosplays Tsukiko made truly had a unique feel to them. There was something magical about them, like they really were from a fairy tale. He also had to admire how realistic some of the masks were. If he didn't know better, he would say that they were heads of many different creatures. The older woman truly had a talent.
He placed his hands in his pockets and began walking to the stairs. "If that's everything, I'll be heading back."
"One more thing!" Tsukiko called out, still eating her omelette. She chewed it a little bit and swallowed before she continued. "I would like to meet the boy staying at your place tomorrow."
Kai stared in surprise. "Why?"
The blonde woman looked over at him sternly. "What do you mean 'why'? I want to know what kind of person he is. I'm not going to be comfortable with someone staying with you temporarily if I've never met the person in question."
"He doesn't come off as the dangerous type. He's a bit too small and timid to pose like a threat."
"Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I'm not asking that I see him for the duration of his stay. Just meeting him once will be enough to satisfy me. Consider it a part of a debt you owe me for your credit card stunt."
Kai glared at the blonde haired woman before sighing. "Whatever." He climbed up the stairs just to meet Miwa, who was holding a cup of tea, at the top. The brunet walked past his friend and out the house, heading back to his apartment.
Miwa climbed down the stairs with the cup of tea he had made for Tsukiko. After all, he couldn't come back down without bringing down the drink he said he'd get. He walked over to the table where his mother was eating and placed the cup down, receiving a warm thank you.
"By the way," Tsukiko began after she took a sip of her tea, "Since you were the one that brought it up, I'd assume you knew about Toshiki's new friend?"
The blond male, who was about to head back upstairs, stopped dead in his tracks when asked that question. He looked over at his mother and grinned nervously. "Yeah, we met when I went over there to pick Kai up. It wasn't my intention to hide him from you though. Kai sure wanted to keep him a secret though…"
A gentle smile appeared on ruby lips. "It doesn't bother me if you two keep secrets just so long as it doesn't get you both into trouble. It's natural for one to keep a secret or two."
"Like the secret you're keeping from Kai?"
Tsukiko ignored her son's comment as she continued to eat her lunch. Miwa was about to head back upstairs when his thoughts since he met Aichi returned to him. He didn't know where and when but he felt like he knew Aichi from somewhere before. Was he a celebrity? No, Miwa was able to memorize every single celebrity he had heard about on the news or internet. He rubbed his temple, trying to remember. Tsukiko gazed up from her lunch and over at the boy who was groaning as he tried to recollect his thoughts.
"Is something wrong, sweetie?" she asked, expressing concern over her son.
Realizing what he must look like in front of the older woman, the blond grinned and shook his head. "I'm just trying to remember where I've seen him from."
"'Him'?"
"The kid Kai is helping out. He said he wasn't from the city, probably not even from the country, yet I feel like I've known him somewhere."
Tsukiko began to ponder. "Well, I have not met him yet so I can't say if I know him or not. Thinking about it, I don't think Toshiki ever told me his name neither did I ever think to ask. Or maybe he did mention it and I wasn't paying attention."
Miwa chuckled. "I highly doubt you could miss his name. It's not a very common name."
"What is his name?"
"I believe the kid said his name was Aichi."
The sound of metal clashing loudly rang out right after the blond male said that. Miwa quickly looked over to see that his mother had dropped the utensils back onto her plate and was now staring straight forward. Her eyes were widened and her complexion grew pale. Small whimpers were barely let out as she sat there paralyzed. Miwa rushed over to her, worried about what had happened to her, unaware that the cause of her state was what he had just said.
'Aichi…? It can't be…'
Pinkshuchan: And that's the end of this chapter. I know; it's awful of me to end it the way I did, but I wouldn't want to reveal everything in one go. Otherwise what would be the point of reading it? Well, aside from the future romance that will blossom of course. Read and Review!
