I'm so sorry this is a couple days late D:

exams are coming up and I have been rather busy with last minute assignments that the teachers have oh so kindly decided to hand out :}

Enjoy,

Anime4us

Chapter 9: What Can I Do?

To say that I was surprised at Yogi's sudden attitude change would be an understatement. I had only seen him crossed once, and he'd barely even said a sentence to me.

"Yogi?..." I murmured, not turning away from the door. "I need my space.."

"Oh yea? You know what I need? Some fucking answers." Yogi said before pushing more weight on the door. "What the hell happened to your wrist Gareki?" He asked.

"I told you, I fell." I said.

"Bullshit!" Yogi slammed his hand against the door before chuckling darkly. "You're lying through your damn teeth."

"I'm telling you the truth." I said monotonously.

"I don't believe you." Yogi spat.

My fists clenched, falling from the door handle. I could feel Yogi's presence mere inches from my back, his breath right on my neck.

"I don't owe you anything." I murmured quietly.

"I'm afraid I didn't quite get that." Yogi sang, sight amusement and annoyance filtered through his voice.

I turned towards him with a harsh glare, the mere foot between me and him not bothering me in the slightest.

"I said. I don't owe you a goddamned thing!" I growled.

Yogi rose a brow at my outburst.

"I don't have to tell you shit! I've known you for a week. What the hell do you want from me?!" I yelled.

"I want to know where that goddamn bruise came from!" Yogi yelled back.

"You don't need to know, Yogi! You don't need to know that I live with Tsubaki because the very woman that gave birth to me didn't want me! You don't need to know that even though the twins tell me that they are my siblings, I feel so alienated in the home that I'm suppose to call my own! You don't need to know that Meiga, Tsubaki's goddamned boyfriend, hates me with such a goddamn passion that he makes my life a living hell. You don't need to know that I purposely rile Meiga up so that he doesn't turn on the twins. It's the goddamn least I can do for the family that wanted me even though my biological one didn't. You don't need to kno-"

My voice was cut off when Yogi wrapped his arms around me.

"Shit... It's ok... I'm sorry." He whispered.

I didn't even know what had left my lips until my body shook. I was sobbing. My hard exterior had cracked. Was it because of Yogi, did Yogi break my shell?

"I didn't know it was that bad." He whispered. "I'm sorry." He said, rubbing a soothing pattern in my back.

It took what felt like hours for me to calm down. I hated the fact that I had let myself crumble in front of someone that I had met only a week prior. What was it that made it so easy for Yogi? Why did he get passed my defenses so easy?

It had been quiet for a long while when I realized that Yogi still had his arms around me. I started to feel cornered. This wasn't me. I didn't cower in front of others. I didn't show such raw emotion, much less cry in front of others.

Why was Yogi any different?

"I'm ok." I said, my voice barely over a whisper.

Even to my own ears it was raw and hoarse. I had never even cried in front of the twins before.

Even when I spoke, Yogi didn't let go.

"Yogi, I said I'm-"

"You're not." Yogi replied.

I couldn't see his face, it was pressed into my neck.

"I shouldn't have pressed like that." He continued.

"I'm fine." I whispered.

"I'm still sorry."

I reached for the arms wrapped around me, untangling them gently.

Yogi's violet eyes showed none of the anger they had held when we had been yelling at each other.

"Listen to me." Yogi whispered as he grabbed my face in his hands.

The action showed desperation, but the touch was as gentle as could be. I was almost scared. Almost.

"Please..." He pleaded, bending down so that his forehead rested on my shoulder. "Please... Don't ever keep those emotions in like that again..." He whispered.

Maybe it was my messed up emotional phase. Maybe I was losing my mind. But I started to laugh.

Yogi pulled back and looked at me with concern as my laughter became louder.

"Oh my god... I broke him..." Yogi murmured.

"Careful, or I'll start thinking you care." I said before wiping at my eyes.

"You're an idiot..." Yogi said, shaking his head slightly, a small smile in place.

I leant my back against the door before sliding down and sitting on the ground.

"Are you ok?" Yogi asked, concern entering his voice.

"I just had my first emotional breakdown in years. I need a breather." I said before smirking.

"I donno if I should be proud or not." Yogi stated before shrugging.

"You're such an ass." I muttered under my breath.

"Don't you feel better after getting that off your chest?" Yogi asked.

It was true. I hadn't even noticed the light feeling that had settled on me. I had been keeping that in for so long... those feelings I liked to pretend I didn't have. I thought no one would understand, or that maybe I'd be ridiculed.

"Actually? Yea.." I said with a small smile. "But you didn't hear that from me, I gotta keep my outward appearance as a hard ass you know." I said, my small smile turning into a smirk.

"You mean I can't tell others how your feelings burst out?" he asked before smiling innocently.

"I'm sorry, did you want to experience a horrible senior year?" I asked with an equally innocent smile.

"That's scary, don't do that." Yogi said while raising a brow.

"Are you telling me my smile is ugly?" I asked while raising a brow in return.

"Me?" Yogi asked with fake innocence. "No."

"In all seriousness Yogi, I appreciate it, even if you kinda went off the deep end there." I said, pushing myself up off the floor.

"I'm here whenever you need someone to talk to." He said with a small smile. "You ok to head home?" He asked.

"Yea, I'll pass by tomorrow. Night."

I opened the door to the house around 7 pm. Was I surprised at how long I had stayed at school? Not really, a mental breakdown would do that to you. The mental breakdown on the other hand, that was a surprised. I was the type of person that liked to keep to myself. I donno.. It was just easier that way. So when I had a full blown freak out in front of Yogi... that was... rather different.

"How was school?" Tsubaki asked, walking out of the kitchen.

From the towel in her hand, I could deduce that she had just finished cleaning the kitchen, presumably, alone. A quick glance to the dimly lit living room showed me I was right. Meiga sat sprawled out on the love seat while the twins shared the family couch. They were all watching some movie or another. I couldn't be bothered to care.

"It was fine. How was diner?" I asked, showing Tsubaki a small smile.

"Something good happened." Tsubaki said with a knowing smile, ignoring my small talk.

"What do you mean?" I asked nonchalantly.

"I donno Gareki, why don't you tell me?" She asked, as she went to put the dish cloth away.

I followed her into the kitchen, letting the sounds of the movie die away as I left the entrance way.

"Just stayed behind to help with some student council work." I said while shrugging.

"Oh, you've sign up for the student council?" Tsubaki asked while raising a brow.

"Nai wanted me to." I responded with before shrugging.

"Yotaka asked you to join the baseball team many times." Tsubaki pointed out.

"But I didn't want to commit myself to a team." I said while shrugging.

"I can't say I'm complaining. Meiga and I decided to sign you up at Circus in hopes that you'd branch out. It's working rather well." She said before reaching up to ruffle my hair. "Now all I need is for you to stop growing." She said before laughing.

I looked away from Tsubaki, slightly embarrassed from her words. She had a smile on her face though, so I was happy.

Tsubaki's smiles were rather contagious, so of course I ended up with a small one to match hers.

That's when Tsubame walked in. She had a smile on her face as Yotaka spoke to her from the living room, it was gone the second she looked over at me.

"Hey." I offered.

"Yea, hey." She said before pulling the fridge open.

She grabbed 2 cokes and a beer. Tsubaki knew I was fighting with the twins, she just didn't know what about.

"I have some science homework." I said before starting to walk towards my room.

"What about dinner?" Tsubaki asked with a frown.

"I'll make a sandwich later, thanks." I said before pushing my door open.