Lies and Secrets: A Sister's Approval and Developing Feelings
Sunlight shined through the blinds as the morning arrived. It was warm and comforting. A moan was heard from Tsubomi as she was slowly waking up. She hugged a pillow and buried her face in it. She was too tired to get up.
She could hear a few voices outside the room but she didn't bother getting up. She kept her eyes closed and stayed in bed.
"She has it rough, huh?"
"Yeah the poor girl. I hope Tsubomi is feeling better. From what Shuuya told me I'm sure that she isn't feeling emotionally well."
Ayano...?
Tsubomi opened her eyes and sat up. This wasn't her room. This was Ayano's room.
"What happened last night?" She pondered. The scenes from the night before flooded her head and she sighed. "Last night was terrible..."
She ran a hand through her hair. Those words were painful. Even though she was aware about her Father's true feelings it still hurt her. She sighed once again. "I can't do anything to please him."
The door swung open, revealing Ayano. She had her signature smile. Warm and full of love. "I see you're awake, Tsubomi." Ayano walked in and closed the door behind her. "Are you alright?" She asked worriedly and sat the corner of her bed.
"...yeah. I'm sorry for troubling you," Tsubomi said. No emotion in her voice.
"Shuuya took you here and told me what happened. I'm sorry. I'm here for you and so is Shuuya." She gave her an assuring smile.
"Thanks," Tsubomi muttered.
"Well are you hungry?" Ayano asked. "I made breakfast!"
Tsubomi shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry." In reality she was a bit hungry but she didn't want to eat. "I should get home," Tsubomi said and got out of bed. "I'll at least fix the bed though."
"No don't worry about it!" Ayano assured. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a bit longer?"
"I'm sure. I don't want to trouble you."
"No it's fine!"
"Alright." Tsubomi sighed and looked down. "What am I wearing?" She asked once she noticed her clothing.
"Oh it's one of my clothing! You can keep it!" Ayano giggled. "You were half asleep while putting it on. I had to help you. Don't you remember?"
Tsubomi sighed. "I was half asleep so I don't remember much." (A/N: I forgot this part I'm such a loser haha.) She wore a light pink shirt with a cartoon bunny on it. It was cute but not Tsubomi's style. She wore white shorts as well. "Well I have nothing else to wear so I guess I won't change."
"Want me to walk you there?" Ayano suggested.
"No its fine," Tsubomi assured. She looked at her knees and noticed that they were bandaged.
"Oh Shuuya cleaned your wounds and bandaged them though you were pretty grumpy so you kicked him a few times." Ayano explained and giggled (A/N: I forgot this part too. I'm such a loser. Haha.) as she noticed Tsubomi staring at her knees.
"I should probably say thanks to Shuuya after I get home and say sorry as well. I'm grumpy when I'm half asleep. Then again who isn't?" Tsubomi shrugged.
"I could text you his address," Ayano smiled.
"...sure," Tsubomi realized that she didn't have any shoes. "Can I borrow some shoes?" She asked.
"Of course! Here!" Ayano stood up, went to her closet, and took out a pair of shoes.
Tsubomi took the pair of shoes and put them on. "Thanks. Well thanks for letting me stay here and I should go."
"I'll at least walk with you downstairs," Ayano said.
The two walk down the stairs with Ayano smiling though she was worried about Tsubomi. Downstairs in the living room was a man with glasses. He wore a lab coat and Ayano smiled at him.
"Father, Tsubomi is leaving!" She announced.
"Is that so," The man who was Ayano's father walked up to the two. "Well Tsubomi, I'm Ayano's father Kenjirou! Ayano really likes you and I'm aware of your situation so you're welcomed to stay here any time!"
"You heard him!" Ayano smiled and let out a giggle.
"Th-thank you for allowing me to stay here," Tsubomi said.
"No problem," Kenjirou shrugged.
"Oh I just remembered something! Dad did you do the laundry yesterday while I was gone?" Ayano looked up at her dad.
Kenjirou laughed nervously. "Well uh Ayano ya see-"
Ayano sighed. "I knew it." She turned to face Tsubomi and smiled. "Well you can go now. Don't forget to stop by here any time you want to!"
"Of course. I won't forget!" Tsubomi managed a smile.
Ayano's eyes lit up. "Wow Shuuya was right! Your smile is pretty!"
"What?!" Tsubomi blushed lightly.
"Yeah! He told me that your smile is the prettiest that he has ever seen! Just seeing you smile makes me happy! You should smile more often!" Ayano smiled and laughed.
Tsubomi was blushing as Ayano spoke. "He said that?"
"Ayano I think you're frightening the girl," Kenjirou placed his hand on Ayano's shoulder.
"Oh sorry Tsubomi!" Ayano said but was still giggling.
"Well I should get going. Bye!" Tsubomi walked out of the house. She smiled a bit. "This day seems promising."
"I'm home!" Tsubomi called out as she closed the door behind her and locked it.
No one came by to greet her. She sighed and went up the stairs. She changed into her own clothing and folded the ones that Ayano gave her. She then walked downstairs to get something to eat. She walked into the dining room as everyone was finishing their breakfast.
"Welcome back, Tsubomi," Her sister said then drank the last bit of her orange juice.
"I see the trouble maker is back," Her step mother spat.
Tsubomi bit back an insult. Her father stayed silent. Tsubomi already felt tears form in the corner of her eyes as she remembered what happened the night before. She shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She took an apple then texted Ayano.
"Hey I'm at my house."
Immediately Ayano replied. "Hey! I'm glad you got to your house safely! I'll text you Shuuya's address!" Right after the text, Ayano sent her the address to Shuuya's house.
"Thanks."
Tsubomi bit into her apple and started walking out.
"Where are you going?" Her sister's voice stopped her.
"I'm going to a friend's place."
"And where were you last night?"
"At a friend's place. Her name is Ayano just letting you know so you wouldn't think of me as some kind of whore." Tsubomi spat.
"And are you going to that friend's house?"
"Why should I tell you? You're just like the rest. You don't truly care about me."
"I care enough to invite your friend to the party just so you wouldn't be bored. Not just that but I needed to see if he was worthy or not."
"Worthy for what?" Tsubomi raised an eyebrow at her.
"I wanted to know if he was worthy enough to date you. You two are dating, right?"
Tsubomi's face turned red. "Wh-what? We're not d-dating! Why would you think that?!"
Her sister shrugged. "Well you two are very close and the way he is around you and how you act. I've never seen you...happy."
"Well we're not dating!" Tsubomi stated.
"If you change your mind about that then I'll just let you know that I give him my blessing to date you," Her sister managed a smile.
"Thanks but he and I will never happen," Tsubomi bit into her apple and left the house.
"I'm going to regret this," Tsubomi muttered as she stood in front of the door. She took a deep breathe and knocked on the door.
A few minutes later the door swung open. The blonde was somewhat surprised when he saw her. "Tsu-Tsubomi?! What are you doing here?" Shuuya asked.
Tsubomi blushed lightly in embarrassment. "Ayano gave me your address. I only came here to say thanks for last night," She avoided eye contact.
Seeing her like this just made him want to hug her and yell "cute!" But he only smiled. "No problem."
Tsubomi felt awkward and she tugged on the end of her shirt.
"Shuuya who's at the door?" A female voice in the background was heard.
"It's just a friend of mine!" Shuuya yelled over his shoulder.
"Is it that Kousuke kid?"
"No! its another friend."
"Um if I'm interrupting something then I can go." Tsubomi spoke nervously.
"No! Stay!" Shuuya quickly said.
"Alright then," Tsubomi was somewhat surprised by his outburst.
A woman who looked like Shuuya appeared behind him. "Who's this Shuuya?"
"Oh Mom, this is my friend Tsubomi Kido."
"Hello..." Tsubomi spoke quietly.
"Wait you're apart of the Kido family? I work at the office for your father." Shuuya's mother said.
"Oh you work for my father."
"Yeah though I don't remember him mentioning he had another daughter."
Tsubomi lowered her gaze. "Yeah...he doesn't really talk about me."
"... wait you're his illegitimate child."
"Bye Mom! I'm going out!" Shuuya interrupted her and grabbed Tsubomi's hand.
"Shuuya!" His mother yelled but he only ran away.
Once they were at a good distance away from his house, they stopped.
"I'm sorry about my mom," Shuuya said.
"Don't worry about it," Tsubomi assured.
"Tsubomi... you seem a bit off today. Are you ok?" Shuuya asked worriedly.
"Yeah I'm fine!" Tsubomi lied.
Shuuya sighed. "No you're not," he walked closer. Tsubomi blushed. "Tsubomi your face is red," He placed a hand on her forehead.
Tsubomi's face reddened. "Y-yes I'm fine!" She removed his hand and stepped back a bit.
Shuuya chuckled. "Alright then. Whatever you say," He shrugged.
"So where do you want to go?" He asked.
Tsubomi shrugged. "I don't know."
Shuuya sighed and looked up at the blue sky. "It's a nice day today."
Tsubomi looked up and nodded. "Yeah."
Shuuya then looked at her again. "How about the park?"
Tsubomi shrugged. "Sure."
The two started walking together.
"Shall we hold hands like a couple?" Shuuya said and winked at her.
"No!"
Shuuya chuckled. "Fine."
As they walked around the park, Tsubomi was listening to music while Shuuya was enjoying the moment. He would glance at her occasionally and whenever she caught him, he'd only smile at her and she'd roll her eyes.
"Hey Tsubomi?"
Tsubomi glanced at him. "Hm?"
"Do you want to get something to eat?" Shuuya asked.
"No I'm fine," Tsubomi replied.
"Well do you want to do something?" Shuuya asked.
"Not really. Walking around is fine though if you want to do something else then that's fine with me," Tsubomi shrugged.
"This is fine," Shuuya smiled.
"Alright then."
They walked in silence.
"Shuuya?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For everything."
Shuuya looked at her then smiled. "I'll do anything as long as it benefits you, Tsubomi."
Tsubomi blushed lightly. "All you have to say is "you're welcome" not all of that."
"But it's so plain and simple!"
"Whatever."
Shuuya chuckled and sighed. "Do you wanna sit down for a bit?"
"Sure," Tsubomi shrugged.
They sat on a nearby bench under the shade of a tree. In front of them people threw frisbees for their dogs to catch, kids ran around, and others just sat on the grass under the warm sun. Shuuya was smiling happily while Tsubomi kept her emotionless face. Shuuya glanced at Tsubomi.
"Are you feeling better?"
Tsubomi glanced at him. "Feeling better about what?"
"About yesterday," Shuuya spoke in a serious tone.
Tsubomi was silent for a moment then sighed. "I'll be fine."
Shuuya sighed and held her hand making her blush lightly. "Well as long as you don't cry then I guess it's fine. Though I'd prefer for you to smile."
Tsubomi yanked her hand away. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why?"
"About what?"
"Why...are you so nice to me?"
Shuuya gazed at her and sighed. "Why shouldn't I?"
"My whole life everyone treated me like a burden. Some treated me like a ghost. I'm an illegitimate child. A child out of a marriage. A daughter of a wealthy man and his mistress who is obviously a prostitute. So why...why do you even bother to be nice to me? To someone who doesn't belong in society?" Tsubomi looked down so her hair covered her pained expression.
Shuuya was silent for a moment as he processed these words that came out of her mouth. Hearing her words made him realize all the pain that she went through all of her life. Just like him she had a hard life. But now things are different. They have friends that they can count on. They have each other.
Shuuya scooted closer to her and lifted her head a bit. He pressed his forehead against hers and smiled. "Because all of that doesn't matter. I don't care if you're an illegitimate child. All that matters is who you are. You being a child out of marriage doesn't matter to me. You're not a burden nor a ghost. You're Tsubomi Kido. Someone who means a lot to me. If others don't like you then who cares. If they hurt you then I'll be there to help you," He held her hand. "I'll be your knight in shining armor. So don't cry or feel like you don't belong anywhere because I know you belong in my world."
After hearing these words, Tsubomi's face turned red. Her heart raced and she had tears form in the corner of her eyes. Shuuya had his eyes closed so he didn't see her red face. His grip on her hand tightened and she was frozen. Tsubomi felt flustered.
"Tsubomi?"
"Y-yes?" Tsubomi managed to say though stuttered a bit.
"I promise I won't leave you. As long as I'm here, I'll make sure you'll smile that beautiful smile of yours."
If Tsubomi could see her face at the moment then she'd see her face as red as a tomato.
This moment was the moment when Tsubomi realized that she was developing feelings for Shuuya.
A/N: YES! I'm done with this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The Seto x Mary story that I'm writing (Safe Haven) is already out and so far there is three chapters so if you're interested then please read it though you don't have to! Well I hope you liked this chapter!
