Hopelessly Devoted To You
Chapter 9 - Fifth Member
"Mitsuuuukkiiiiiii!"
"Uh... Hachi, you okay?" I asked, stopping at a nearby bench to talk to her.
"Noooo! I'm totally broke!"
Following suit, Shin took a seat beside me on the bench and lit a cigarette.
"Mitsukiii, you've gotta help meeeee!"
"I have to pay for my stuff too, you know. And if I do help you, Nana will kill me," I sighed, grabbing Shin's cigarette. "Why don't you just ask Sho for some money?"
"No way! If I tell him, he'll hate me!"
Pausing for a moment to think, I brought Shin's cigarette to my lips and took a deep breath in. I definitely wanted to help her, but I still have to pay for my own things and if I lend her money then she wouldn't learn how to be independent.
"Shin, who's worse to have mad at you- Nana or Hachi?"
"I'm thinking Nana," he answered with a small chuckle. "We could always just lend her some money and not tell Nana."
"True... Hachi, how much money do you have left?"
"Ұ2228... I should get my next paycheque on the 26th, but I still have to pay for rent, electricity, heat and-"
"-okay, okay. Shin and I will lend you some money, but you have to promise not to use it needlessly and to not tell Nana."
"I promise! Thank you, Mitsuki!"
"Remember- we're lending you money, not giving it to you," I repeated, hoping she'd understand.
"Don't worry, I'll pay you guys back for sure! Thank you sooo much!"
After a quick 'goodbye', I hung up my cell and stood up with Shin.
"Aww, you're so nice," he teased with a mischievous tone.
"Notice how I said 'Shin and I'? You're helping out too," I pointed out, starting to walk down the street.
"Right, I'm such a nice guy."
When the two of us finally got to the studio- our original destination- I could hear someone playing drums, but it was only brief. Curiously, Shin opened the door and walked in, finding Nana sitting at the drum set.
"Wow, that was so good!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You're amazing! You can even play the drums!"
"Nah, I can't play them," she shrugged off, as she stood.
"But you were just playing..."
"Yeah, but that's the best I can do."
"How did you learn?"
"With my former band in my hometown... I just learned for fun."
"Yasu taught you?" Shin asked, surprising both of us.
"Wait, how do you know about Yasu...? I chimed in curiously.
"Oh, Nobu talks about him when he's drunk... It's usually 'if only Yasu were here'."
"You're still living at Nobu's?" Nana questioned, lighting a cigarette. "Wouldn't it be better if you went back to your own house from time to time? Won't your parents worry?"
"I don't think so."
I sent him a worried look, but he just shrugged it off.
"Whatever, do as you like," Nana informed nonchalantly.
"You know... You're really weird, Nana," Shin added, turning away from the two of you. "Anyone else would have said 'no Shin, I'm sure you're parents are really worried about you'."
"True- but in the real world, there are even parents who abandon their children."
An awkward silence filled the room- neither of them making eye contact.
"Uh... So when's Nobu supposed to be coming?" I asked, hoping to start a conversation.
"He's working," Shin answered. "Probably won't come 'til later."
After he finished, silence filled the room once more. I never liked silences like this, it always made me fidgety. Plus, there was no reason for everyone to be so down."
"Why're you guys so depressing?" I questioned with a groan.
That seemed to have gotten their attention, so I continued. "We're in a good position right now. Five us of own three separate flats, jobs obviously aren't that big of a problem, and Blast is back!"
"True..." Nana mumbled, a sly smirk spreading on her lips. "Minus the fact that Hachiko's broke."
"Right... Forgot about that one..."
From beside me, Shin started laughing, putting a confused look on my face.
"What's so funny?"
"You," he answered bluntly.
"Well, sorry for caring," I mumbled with a pout.
"Thank you, Mitsuki."
As I went to look up at him, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. I could feel my cheeks heating up at his actions, but luckily I could hide my face against his chest. It felt as if it were just him and myself in the room, until Nana cleared his throat.
"I thought we came here to practice," she pointed out with a smirk.
"Uh, r-right," I answered quickly as I pulled back.
As the two of them started laughing at me, the door opened and Hachi walked in- well, more like ran in.
"Mizukoshi gave me 300,000 yen!" she announced, holding up a banking book.
"300,000 yen?" the three of us repeated sceptically.
"Yup! He decided to close Sabrina's so it's probably compensation."
Nana didn't seem to accept this claim though. It did seem... Sketchy.
"You slept with him, didn't you?"
"Absolutely not!'
"Liar! He wouldn't just give you all that money for nothing!"
"I swear, it's not a lie!"
With a sigh, I walked over to Hachi and took the book from her and read it over.
"Wow... That deposit's not from him," I stated, shaking my head slowly at her stupidity. "Look again."
She quiely took the book back with an utterly confused look on her face.
"Natsuko Komatsu... That's mom!"
"If you keep crying to your mom for every little thing, your path to independence will be long," Nana commented.
"But I never told her! Maybe it's mother's instinct?" she suggested. "I know! Let's celebrate with sukiyaki!"
"Why should we celebrate? You just got fired!" Nana argued.
"I could use a nice party..." I mumbled, getting Shin thinking as well.
"Yeah, some sukiyaki sounds good right about now..."
"No way! I already bought natto!"
"Fine... Natto's good enough," the two of us sighed.
"Who said you two were invited?"
"You don't want us to come over?" I whined, giving her the puppy dog eyes.
She stopped for a moment and turned away from me, but the moment she turned back I could tell she was going to give in.
"Fine, whatever. Just stop with that face."
"Success!"
Shin and I immediately high fived each other with grins on our faces.
After practice at the studio, we all headed back to Nana's apartment for celebratory natto. I would have much preferred sukiyaki, but I didn't have much say, plus, there'd be beer.
"Shouldn't you call Natsuko to thank her?" Nana suggested as we headed up the seven flights of stairs.
"Yes, yes, later."
"Oh? Is that 'cause you know you'll cry like a baby when you hear her?"
As the two of them went on, Shin, and I stayed a few feet behind, laughing at their conversation.
"But... Aren't you ever homesick, Nana?"
"Of course not. I don't have a home, remember?"
"Come on... You're just boasting..."
As they turned the corner, Nana suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. With a confused look to each other, Shin and I stopped as well, but Hachi quickly turned around and ran back down the hall.
"What's going on?" Shin asked quietly.
"Not sure..."
When Nana moved again, the two of us followed and stopped a little ways down the hall as she stopped in Yasu's arms.
"Yasu... You're the one who formed Blast, right?" she questioned, starting to cry.
"Yeah... I was so worried, I couldn't sleep," he informed, glancing at Shin and I for a second. "And anyways, there are law firms in Tokyo, too."
I smiled and walked past them to open the door. "Glad you're here, Yasu."
He returned my smile and nodded, bringing Nana into the apartment after us.
When Hachi returned, she was with Nobu, drinks and groceries in tow. It didn't take long for the celebration to start. Along the way, Hachi went into the other room to call her mom to thank her. When she came back to explain, Nana couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was rather funny, but seeing as Nana had been drinking for sometime now, it only became that much more amusing for her.
"It's not funny, Nana!" Hachi complained, but Nana just kept laughing. "'Don't come back'? Can someone say that? And I'm not married!"
"Well done, Natsuko! You're the best, mom!"
"Eh... She's definitely drunk..." I mumbled, taking the opportunity to take my own drink.
"Nooo, I aint drunk." As she continued to laugh uncontrollably, Yasu walked back into the room. "Yasuuu!"
Nana immediately ran over to him and sat on his lap.
"Be careful, she's had a lot to drink," I warned.
As soon as the words slipped from my lips, Nana pulled closer to him and kissed him on the lips, completely freaking out Hachi.
"Looove youuu!"
"It's okay, I get it," Yasu informed nervously as she cuddled against him. "Come on, don't climb on me..."
The look on Hachi's face as Nana fell asleep in Yasu's arms was rather priceless. She must be thinking that Nana and Yasu were in a relationship or that they would be soon.
"Hey, don't fall asleep..." He sighed, lifting her as he stood up. "I'll bring her to her room."
I chuckled and stood up to get my things, "I guess I should get going then."
"Wait, I'll walk you," Shin offered, following me over to the door.
"Alright, thanks."
As the two of us reached the door, Hachi suddenly stepped in front of us, blocking our path.
"Hachi...?"
She only stayed there for a brief moment, then backed away with a nervous laugh.
"Heh, sorry..."
With a small chuckle, Shin and I passed her and started heading down the stairs. I could tell Hachi wanted to say something, but I figured it wasn't too important. Even though that's what was going through my mind, I couldn't help but feel like I should have given her a better chance to say it.
"Hey, you okay?" Shin asked worriedly, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry... I was just thinking about something..."
"Okay, good. I thought you were feeling sick or something."
Just as I was about to look up him, his hand slipped around mine, practically making my heart stop. He must have noticed though, because he sends me an apologetic look and pulled his hand back.
"Sorry..."
Without a word, I put my hand back in his, surprising him and myself. For the rest of the walk, the two of us stayed hand in hand, only letting go when I stopped at my door.
"You wanna come in for a bit?" I asked, turning around after stepping into my flat.
"Depends," he stated with a mischievous smirk. "Do you have any beer?"
"Of course, who do you think I am?"
As he walked in with a chuckle, I closed the door behind him and headed over to the fridge. Shin, on the other hand, made his way over to the couch and sat down with the TV on.
"Anything good on?" I teased, dropping onto the couch after tossing him a beer.
Before saying anything, he popped open the can and took a quick sip. "Nah."
As I took a drink, he turned off the TV and put his can down. Curiously, I turned towards him, but I was cut short as he pressed his lips onto mine. At that point, I was completely taken aback by surprise and my drink slipped out of my hand, my arms immediately wrapping around his neck to deepen the kiss.
FN: Just noticed that both chapters I posted (my FMA one as well) ended kinda in the same way, lol. Anyways, thanks to everyone who's reviewed and faved~
