Chapter Ten: No Room for Escape
September 11, Thursday, 11:30 AM
Cat-and-mouse. Hide-and-seek. A predator hunting its prey. It's amusing how two high school students have suddenly engaged themselves into a game of chase.
At least, that's what an outsider will think about the situation because Hitsugaya Toushirou feels otherwise. He is not pleased about it. Not at all.
Since yesterday up to now, his roommate has been tailing him whenever he can and he has the time. The guy just wouldn't go away, no matter what Toushirou tells him, and the fact that they are dorm roommates just makes everything worse.
Maybe Kaito thinks that Toushirou is avoiding him as if he's a plague only because Toushirou doesn't already want to hear anything from him about soccer. That's one reason, yes, but what Kaito doesn't know is that Toushirou wants to stay away from him also because he can't trust his emotional judgment whenever his roommate is around. Pathetic as it sounds, Toushirou is scared of his feelings for Kaito. It's too confusing and terrifying to fully realize.
Toushirou sighs as he pokes at the meatballs that Momo has prepared for his lunch. He doesn't feel hungry at all. Just by thinking about his roommate, he has already lost his appetite.
Damn Kaito.
He grabs the bottled water from his side, and slugs its content down.
"What are you doing up here in the rooftop alone, Toushirou?"
Toushirou chokes, surprised to hear that voice. He coughs a few times, hand unconsciously falling to his side to place the bottle on the floor. Gasping, he stares, aghast, at the new comer who's now squatting down in front of him. This guy will surely be the death of him. "And what the hell are you doing here, Shiba?"
"I'm following you." Kaito answers as though following a person is a very normal thing to do. He stares at Toushirou's lunch box, murmuring like he's out in space. "And it's Kaito, not Shiba."
Ignoring his comment, Toushirou glowers and fleers at him. "You're stalking me."
Kaito looks up at him, his expression unreadable, making Toushirou feel suddenly conscious under his gaze.
In denial, Toushirou feigns nonchalant, but even the most clever man doesn't know how to keep the warmth and the red color from spreading all over his face. Shit. There is no way in hell he's blushing! Since when did he turn into a lovestruck teenager? And he's not even lovestruck, damn it! This is total madness!
"D-don't look at me like that, and for Pete's sake, Shiba, s-stop pestering me." Toushirou intends the words to come as a growl, but he feels himself dithering in speech instead.
And like making him uncomfortable still isn't enough, Kaito even has the nerve to grin at him. "Neh, Toushirou."
"It's Hitsugaya." This time, Toushirou really does growl. He dislikes how Kaito is acting so familiar with him. He's already given up on telling this guy to call him senpai, learning that he's not also a big fan of such trivial titles, but calling him by his first name? Isn't that a bit inappropriate? They are hardly close to each other, and for the love of Kami, Kaito is not his girlfriend.
Uh-huh, except he can never really be a girlfriend, because he's not a girl in the first place. And why? Do you actually want him to become a special friend?Somewhere in the deep recesses of Toushirou's mind, a part he wishes has just remained dormant forever and wants to completely shut off now, those taunting words echo.
"I like meatballs," Kaito suddenly remarks, completely shattering the awkwardness that's starting to form around them.
Taken aback by that random statement, Toushirou furrows his brows. "What?"
Kaito smiles, and Toushirou notices that it isn't one of those smiles—carefree, nervy and oftentimes suspicious. This one, on the other hand, is benign. It's the kind of smile where even the eyes speak to people, the kind of smile that can easily charm anyone. Gentle and captivating.
"Yuzu usually prepares some for me. I miss her cooking."
Toushirou blinks, feeling like he's just been rudely snatched from the la-la land. What the..."Huh?" he asks unintelligibly, making him sound like a fool and totally uncharacteristic.
Much to his further discomfort, Kaito even dares snicker at his reaction. "Jeez, Toushirou, what's going on with you? It appears like you're not yourself today." Kaito's trademark grin is back. "In fact, you just look like someone who's daydreaming about his crush."
Funny he joked about that.
"You're talking bullcraps," Toushirou grumbles, standing up, and is just about to stalk off when Kaito calls for him.
"Hey, your lunch, Toushirou."
Sighing, Toushirou looks down at him. "You, idiot, did you even take your lunch already?"
Kaito blinks, and then looks down at Toushirou's lunchbox. As if a light bulb has just clicked, he looks up at Toushirou again, grinning and scratching the back of his head. "Heh, come to think of it, I was too busy looking for you, I didn't realize that I haven't grabbed anything to eat yet."
"Figures," Toushirou murmurs, rolling his eyes. He looks pointedly at his lunch, and then turns to meet Kaito's curious stare. "I've eaten half of that and it's perfectly good for me, but I still am not sure if you'll find Hinamori's meatballs as great as that Yuzu-person's, whoever that is. Anyway, unless you really are trying to kill yourself, stop making excuses to skip your lunch, idiot." He thrusts a hand in his pocket, before walking away indifferently. Just as he is about to exit from the rooftop, he stops, hearing Kaito call him again. His hand halts on the doorknob, and he looks over his shoulder only to glare at Kaito. "Now what?"
But he surely is not looking forward to be thrown off by Kaito's smile for the second time this day.
"Thanks, Toushirou. You're too kind."
Goose bumps suddenly crawl on Toushirou's arms, as he suddenly gets hot under the collar. What the hell? Must Kaito really talk like that? Toushirou swears his roommate is doing that on purpose to screw him up further, as if the havoc he has caused to him is still not enough.
Run. A very clear warning from the part of his mind which still remains sane, but the urge to cherish the bittersweet moment is too overwhelming that he can't turn away. For this moment... even just this very moment, a part of him wants to forget about logic and disregard the 'what should be' and 'what should not,' even if it means he has to turn the feeling into a guilty pleasure. But then, reason strikes him hard, and realization makes him feel both relieved and more scared. Relieved that he didn't give in, and scared that he nearly did.
Run! Run!
Clueless about his roommate's inner struggle, Kaito grins. "But I won't go easy on you just because of it, Toushirou. I still am all set to get you to play soccer again."
Unnaturally thankful to Kaito's knack of ruining moments, Toushirou resorts to rolling his eyes instead of louring at him again.
"Whatever." He opens the door and steps down the stairs to the hallways, noting that the unwelcomed feeling earlier hasn't completely toned down yet.
"Good afternoon, Hitsugaya-sama."
"Uh," he answers offhandedly, passing without even looking at that person who greeted him. He ambles on the hallways, not exactly giving attention to where he's going. He doesn't even realize that he's already in front of the principal's office.
"If it isn't one of my favorite students." Kyouraku is standing near the door, a hand poised on the knob. By the look of it, he was just about to enter the room and it is as if he just stopped when he saw Toushirou.
Automatically, Toushirou glares at him. Just the very man he needs to talk to at this moment.
"Good day, Kyouraku-san." Except it obviously is not a good day for him, if the dark look that he's sending to the older man's direction is anything to go by. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
As though he has been expecting that from Toushirou, Kyouraku answers, grinning, "Why, of course, Hitsugaya-san. Would you want to come in to my office?"
Toushirou sighs and shakes his head. "It won't take long."
Kyouraku lets go of the doorknob, nodding at Toushirou's decision, and faces the younger man properly. He doesn't say a word, but instead, he looks like he's waiting for Toushirou to initiate the talk.
Taking the sign, Toushirou sighs and looks around as if to make sure that no one is near to overhear. He turns back to Kyouraku, eyes narrowing in a silent reprehension of the man in front of him. "You knew everything about Shiba Kaito, didn't you? You were aware of his fondness for soccer, and you knew all along how he badly wanted me to play the game again. Yet, you sent him to become my roommate, and to mess with my life, and I won't even deny the fact that he's doing a good job. I mean, screwing the crap out of me. I don't care whatever he does with his life, but seriously, he's already driving me insane." But he's not talking about Kaito's will to bring him back to the soccer field anymore.
Kyouraku smiles, an action which makes Toushirou seethe in annoyance. How dare he act like everything's perfectly nice, when in fact, everything's already messed up? At least, to Toushirou, that's the case.
"Is it only because of his persistence in bringing you back to playing soccer?" Kyouraku asks cryptically, sounding like he already knows the answer whether it will be given or not. "As far as I can see, there's a much deeper reason why you believe he's driving you insane."
The statement keeps Toushirou rooted on the stop. He stares at Kyouraku skeptically, convincing himself that the principal can't mean it exactly as how he interprets it. There is no way Kyouraku knows about that.
Then again, it seems that most secrets are thinly veiled when it comes to this old man.
"Maybe you're right about me knowing a lot about Shiba Kaito. In fact, I know something about him that will surely knock people's socks off."
"What?" The question comes too quick for someone who just claimed to not give a hang about what Kaito does with his life. It's already seconds late when Toushirou realizes that Kyouraku was only baiting him. Still, he knows that there lies a big truth behind the principal's words. "What is it?"
"That, my boy, is for me to know, and for you to find out." Kyouraku chuckles before he opens the door to his office and goes in, leaving the dumbfounded Toushirou in the hallways.
Toushirou clenches his fist and curses under his breath. What was he still expecting? Of course, that old man would say something like that, because for him, most things which happen around the school are just pretty much fun and games.
He sighs, defeated, and walks out of there. It seems like a case of any port in a storm; he has to play the principal's stupid guessing game.
•нιтѕυкαяιи•
6:45 PM
"So, who is it this time?" Toushirou asks to no one in particular, brow shooting up in curiosity, as he looks at Momo who is currently stuffing her mouth with the blueberry cheesecake. Until now, he still can't find the logic of why women often drown themselves with an unhealthy amount of sugar when they are upset, and granted he's never been fond of sweets himself, the explanation to that behavior will still remain as a mystery for him.
And speaking of mysteries, he still hasn't discovered who's the guy who unwittinglyrejected his sister this time. He looks at his other companions around the restaurant's table in anticipation for the answer, but Gin and Rangiku only shrug their answers, silently telling him that even they have no clue.
"I wasn't even given the chance to get close to him, even though he said we're already friends," Momo suddenly speaks, gently settling the fork beside her plate.
After hearing Momo speak, the corner of Toushirou's mouth instantly curve up into a smirk. He turns to Gin and Rangiku, only to see them wearing an expression, he is sure, identical to his.
They all know what's just about to come. As a matter of fact, listening to Momo rant about her crushes is already like a routine for the three of them, not that they really mind.
"And then, he said he already has a girlfriend. Well, he didn't say it. In fact, he denied that that Yuzu-girl is his girlfriend, but still... I mean, why would he talk about her like she's the most important girl in his life if she's not that special? He even called her as his other half." Momo pouts. "So I'm pretty sure that that Yuzu-girl is the closest thing to being his girlfriend."
Toushirou creases his brows, trying to recall where he heard the name Yuzu before. And then, it hits him. He looks at his sister, a frown still on his face. "You're not talking about Shiba, are you?"
"Actually, Hitsugaya-kun, yes. I am talking about your roommate, Shiba Kaito. That is, if it's the same Shiba you were asking about."
"Eh?! So it was Kaito-kun, huh, Momo-chan?" Rangiku butts in. She hums thoughtfully and glances upward as if to ponder more about the subject. "Well, I'd say that that kid is actually charming."
Toushirou scoffs. Charming, huh? In what way?
"Quite smart too," Gin adds to Rangiku's statement before raising a cup to take a sip of his coffee. When Rangiku and Momo look at him curiously, he shrugs. "He's in my Earth Science class."
Rangiku nods as if to say she gets it. She looks at Momo, smiling slightly. "But Kaito-kun has a girlfriend, huh?"
Toushirou scowls. Even he's not aware of that information about his roommate, not that he's interested to know. And not that Kaito is obliged to tell him.
"Yeah," Momo answers quietly, and then sighs, "Lucky girl."
Frowning still, Toushirou looks at Momo. "Seriously, Hinamori, you like that guy?"
"Aww, what's with the expression, dear?" Rangiku asks, poking Toushirou on his cheek. "Don't tell me you're jealous."
Toushirou swats her hand and glares at her. Stupid people and their stupid questions. "Are you stupid, Matsumoto? Why would I be jealous? I don't even like that Shiba Kaito, and so what if he already has a girlfriend?"
The reactions to that are immediate. Momo knocks off a utensil to the floor. Rangiku blinks a few times, opens her mouth to say something, but closes it again. Gin's hand stills on the handle of his cup, his usual smile sliding off of his expression, and then he looks blankly at Toushirou. What did he just say?
"Uhm... I didn't... mean it that way?" Rangiku begins, uncertainty in her voice, still unable to grasp Toushirou's words completely. "I mean... I was asking if you are jealous because your sister adores a guy other than you." She speaks slowly, as if Toushirou will not understand her if she talks in a normal pace. "I didn't mean you're jealous because you... uhm... you like Kaito-kun, nor did the idea ever cross my mind. I didn't even ask you about the girlfriend, and now... you just practically said that..."
Confusion flickers on Toushirou's expression for a brief moment, before everything becomes clear to him. His eyes widen, realizing his mistake. Shit, he didn't just walk into that one.
"Ah, I..." He will explain himself, tell them that it was a mistake,—a huge mistake—but seeing his companions' expressions, he already knows that backpedaling will just be a waste of time.
"You like Kaito-san, Shiro-chan?" It's Momo who finally asks the words for which Rangiku seemed to have a trouble of searching for. "And you're jealous of mebecause I like him? That and he already has a girlfriend?"
"No!" The answer is given too soon to be considered acceptable. He's seriously digging his own grave now.
"Eh, I thought you were only being nice to him when you assisted him to my class on the first day of the term," Gin says, joining the conversation, "I didn't realize that you actually like that kid."
Toushirou makes a face, grousing, "I said I don't like him." What the hell is wrong with these people? He's aware that they're stupid, but he never knew that they are exceptional kind of stupid.
As if she's finally able to recover from shock, Rangiku reaches to ruffle her cousin's hair, grinning. "Nah, it's perfectly fine, Toushirou, dear. It's just natural for young people to have their crushes. And, given it's Kaito-kun, I can't really blame you. Like what I said, that kid is very charming and it's hard not to like him."
Perfectly fine? The hell it is.
"I don't. Have. A crush. On him." Toushirou grimaces just saying it. "And what the hell is charming about him? He's just a pain in the a—neck."
Rangiku rolls her eyes, and then looks to the side just to murmur, "Denial."
Gin pretends to take another sip of coffee just to hide his growing smile as he concurs with Rangiku. "Definitely in-denial."
"I'm not in-denial, damnit."
"Famous last words, Hitsugaya-kun." Momo shrugs when her brother looks at her as if to say 'Not you too.' "Don't worry, I've already decided I'm not going to get in the way."
"Get in the way of what?" Rangiku stares at Momo questioningly.
"Of Shiro-chan and Kaito-san, of course." Momo answers, wearing a very serious expression. "I like Kaito-san, but I'm willing to give way just for my dear brother. And don't you think it's very romantic, Rangiku-san? I mean, Fate has brought them together here as roommates. They're like, I don't know, like soulmates. Isn't that sweet?" She almost squeals at the last sentence.
Gin smirks while Rangiku giggles. "Oh, dear, you're reading and watching too much love stories, Momo-chan."
Peeved by the fact that no one is taking him seriously, Toushirou stands up and marches out of the place without even saying a word to them. He has had enough, and it's better to stay away from those idiots for a while, instead of letting himself finally blow a gasket.
Momo, Rangiku and Gin all stare at the door where Toushirou has just exited.
"Aww, he's pissed off, isn't he?" Rangiku asks quietly, still staring at the door.
"I think you've actually gone overboard this time, ladies," Gin says in a deadpan.
Momo brings a hand to her mouth as she giggles. "But he's too adorable and clueless that we can't help but tease him. And don't bail yourself out of this, Gin-san. Even you're fond of teasing him."
Gin shrugs. "Someone has to crack him up sometimes."
•нιтѕυкαяιи•
7:50 PM
Just as Toushirou enters his room, one question suddenly comes to his mind: How is he going to shun the nuisances if his number one persecutor is actually his roommate?
"Hey, Toushirou! I've got some DVD's of your old games from Akira, and I just finished watching them again."
"Nice," Toushirou grumbles, walking past his roommate's bed, not even bothering to glance at him.
"It just reminded me of how amazing all your moves really were. And I'm sure a lot of people want to see those signature moves again. Akira and Shin said they miss watching you perform them. They're also big fans of yours, you know."
"No, I don't know," Toushirou answers, not really paying attention to what Kaito is saying. Feeling burned out, he throws himself on his bed and blankly stares at the ceiling.
"That's why you seriously need to play soccer again. You'll help us a lot, and maybe you can even teach us on how to improve our styles."
Damn if he will.
"Hey, Toushirou! Are you listening?!"
"Lay off, Shiba. Why can't you just leave me alone?" Toushirou croaks, as he rolls himself on the bed and buries his face on the soft pillow.
"Of course, I can't leave. This is my room too, silly."
Toushirou groans inwardly. This is hopeless. No matter how much he tries, it seems like he's stuck in this muddle, so much for the plan of staying away from Kaito. If only he knows a way to escape from this terrible fate.
Fate.No, he doesn't believe that the thing is true, but if it's the only available option to console him, then he'll take the moment to blame everything to that 'fate.'
You're terrible Fate, if you're even real. Why did you even let this little guy suddenly turn my world upside-down?