Kyou absentmindedly swung her feet as she sat on the edge of the front porch, idly watching her sister-in-law bustle back and forth from the house window. She smiled slightly, fondly taking in her best friend's protruding stomach that seemed to be hindering her movements, reducing her steps to a rapid waddle instead. Her walk reminded her of a mama penguin, Kyou laughed to herself at the thought.
"Kyou?"
Blue eyes rose to meet concerned pink, as the pink-haired woman momentarily paused in her housework to take in the sight of the woman sitting alone on the weathered wood of her porch.
Kyou blinked, momentarily startled out of her reverie. "Yes?"
"Why are you sitting on the front porch?" Eyes sweeping over the woman's pajamas from the morning and her long teal blue hair that hung loosely to her back. "Is there a reason why you are sitting there?"
Kyou turned back to stare at the cloudy sky, trying her best to feign innocence. "No reason, just wanted to stare at the clouds..."
Staring at Kyou's forlorn expression, Satsuki's eyes were filled with gentle understanding that could only come from her years of friendship with Kyou. The floorboards of the front porch creaked under her much increased weight as she made her way over to the teal-haired woman, painstakingly careful of her pregnant belly as she eased herself down beside Kyou with a soft grunt of exertion.
Tenderly, she reached out a hand to stroke her friend's teal locks in a comforting manner, the loose strands now spilling halfway down Kyou's back. She sighed, the entire situation reminding her of how old she and Kyou had already become since their times in high school. It was as if she was taken back into time to witness the days where Kyou would come running to her with her problems. They then sharing heartfelt discussions of how they were feeling, or what they could do to solve the problem, you know, those famous "Girl Talks".
"Clouds? Sorry to disappoint you Kyou, but it looks like it's going to rain soon"
Satsuki smiled in amusement as Kyou turned her face away petulantly, shying away from the affection in a grumpy manner.
A puzzled expression shown on Kyou's face, her eyebrows knitted together as she continued to stare at the drifting clouds. "Really? It doesn't look like it would..."
Satsuki shook her head. "True, but the weatherman said that it would rain later in the afternoon" She paused. "But is anything wrong Kyou? You seem a little out of it."
"Nothing I could think of on the top of my head." Kyou's voice was muffled, as she had buried her head deep in her arms. "I'm fine, no need to worry your pretty little head Satsuki."
Satsuki made a disbelieving noise. "Oh really?"
"Yes, really." Was the muttered reply. "Just feeling a bit tired and all..."
She raised her eyebrows at Kyou, exhaling lightly as she looked at the curled up woman beside her. "If nothing is wrong, then why did I find you at home, wearing your pajamas and sleeping in, when you should be at work? I find that odd since there isn't any problems."
That got a response as Kyou lifted her heart-shape head from where it was burrowed. "Problems? What problems? I've been overworking myself lately, so I just wanted to take the day off, to you know, relax and all."
In truth, since Kasamatsu had told him his feeling for her at lunch yesterday, she didn't know how to face the man. How was she suppose to act in front of a man who was in love with her? Kyou feeling too scared and embarrassed to face him, decided to avoid him for the day.
Satsuki huffed with astonishment. "Kyou-chan, I'd have to be deaf, blind, and completely dumb not to notice what's wrong with you." Satsuki paused. A dainty hand reached out to smooth down the bright teal blue hair again, giving out a small smile as she continued to speak. "But I'm not any of those things. So was it Kise that had been making you this way?"
Satsuki then looked at the air obviously, waiting for the inevitable denial from the woman.
She wasn't disappointed.
Kyou exploded in full force, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes flashed with embarrassment. "WHA-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! What does Kise have to do with anything?" She scoffed, looking as though the question was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.
"Hmm...then was it Kasamatsu-san?"
Kyou's face flashed crimson at the mention of Kasamatsu's name, the memory of yesterday's lunch-time confession flashed through her mind. She quietly squirmed in her spot as she tightly held onto the fabric of her skirt in awkward silence.
Satsuki's eyes widened. "I guess it was both of them then..."
She abruptly halted her tirade for a moment, as though fidgeting with herself as to whether she should say anything to her best friend. Satsuki waited patiently, a mere onlooker as Kyou was speaking more to herself than to the woman beside her.
"They both proclaimed their love to me...Kise and Kasamatsu that is." Kyou twisted her hands in her lap, her voice rapidly growing small. "Only I don't understand...I just don't know what to do from now..." She paused again, slipping to a slumped position as a dejected look shown on her face.
"Why don't you know Kyou?"
"Because-I don't want to get hurt again. I'm scared of getting hurt, I'm scared of loving somebody again, I'm scared Satsuki...I just-" Kyou paused. "I just want to be happy."
Satsuki continued stroking Kyou's hair gently. "Do you think you will be happy if you ended up with either of them?"
Silence engulfed between the two of them. Kyou torn on what to do from now on. Thinking things logically, Kasamatsu was the obvious man for her to fall in love with. Kyou is well aware of just how great a man Kasamatsu is. He's handsome, smart, kind and caring. He's strong and funny, charming and well-mannered. She had never noticed anything that she didn't like about the man, other than his occasional inability to talk to the entire female population, of course. But, as he aged, it seemed that even that problem has improved. It now appears that the only time he gets particularly nervous was when he was in front of her. Kyou now knowing why he was so nervous around her when she could clearly remember his flushed face and stutter that were clearly evident in his voice when he confessed his love to her.
But then again, there was Kise. The man that she had loved since like forever, the father of her child, and the man that had tore her heart into two. How could this one man have such a strong grip on her, even to this day? It's been so long yet her feelings are just as strong as they were ten years ago. It's seems that all she did was push her feelings for the blonde back. Hiding them deep down in her heart and seeing him once more only brought them back to the surface.
"Maybe. I just don't want to make another mistake."
Satsuki smiled. She could understand why Kyou was so confused. Heck, she would be too if she were put in the same situation. It would be hard to trust anybody again. "We all make mistakes. It's just how we deal with the problem that matters in the end."
"So I just have to decide." Kyou whispered to herself.
The idea of picking either of the two was hard for her. Deep down in her heart, she did truly want to give Kise another chance. Even if it were simply for the reason of attempting to get back with the father of her child. Kyou always knew that Kyouta was curious about his father, she never even told her son his name, where he was, or even showed him a photo of what he looked like, she knew that he had to be hurting. Her head, on the other hand, is telling her otherwise. Her head only brings forth her fears of being hurt once again. And when she thinks of Kasamatsu, her heart aches as she thinks about all these years he went without once announcing his feelings. Holding himself back for so long, simply because he was friends with Kise.
Kyou could only imagine just how painful that was and in a way, she also wants to give him a chance as well. Who knows how things might turn out between her and the dark haired man. But she was worried that even one chance would give him false hope, make him believe that things will end well between when she herself wasn't certain of what the outcome would be. Although, she had a feeling it wouldn't end well for him. No matter how much she loved Kasamatsu, she wasn't in love with him and that was the same problem she had had with her old boyfriends. She doesn't want another loveless relationship. Her heart wouldn't be able to handle that.
Kyou knew Kasamatsu had been waiting for her for so long. Held in his feelings, never letting it slip or show how much he cared. He was always there when she needed somebody. Whenever she was sad, he would sit there and rub her back, dry her tears and do all that he could to make her feel better. Whenever she was happy, he would share her happiness, smile, laugh and be the senpai that she truly respected and cared for.
She could only imagine just how much that must have truly hurt him. How much pain she must have put him through, even if she never knew about thoughts would then carry to the point of how she never spotted it. How she never once saw it in his eyes, or why he would always be the one standing beside her when things got rough, at least, more than any of the others. How could she have been so blind? She claims to care about the man, yet she was completely oblivious to his feelings for all those years. And of course, being the type of man Kasamatsu is, he never once blamed her. All he did was think of her.
He never proclaimed his love for her for her sake. He never came clean or even hinted towards how he felt for her sake alone. And that only made her feel like shit for the simple fact that she never once considered him in that way. It only proved just how selfish she could truly be. She had to give him a chance, even if it all ended in failure or if it even strained their friendship, she had to at least try.
Determined blue eyes met with pink ones. "I've decided."
Satsuki smiled. "Oh really?"
Kyou nodded. "I'm going to give Kasamatsu a chance. Even if things don't end the best for us when it comes to a relationship, I want to give him a chance. Who knows..." A small blush formed on her cheeks. "I might really fall in love with him in the end, how would I know if I never tried?."
"Good, but I want you to be happy with your decision in the end. No regrets, can you promise me that Kyou?"
Standing up, Kyou held a hand down to Satsuki. "I promise."
A smile grew on Satsuki's face as she took her hand and Kyou helped the pregnant woman to her feet. "Do you want something to eat? You must be hungry, I made some nikujaga. I'll heat it up-"
A loud ringing sound pierced through the calm and quiet, startling the two as Kyou's ringtone rang repeatedly.
"No thanks Satsuki. I'll head back inside once I take this call."
Satsuki nodded as she started to head back inside. "The nikujaga actually turned out pretty good this time. There are leftovers if you do get hungry~" She sang as she closed the door shut to give her some privacy.
Kyou shuffled the contents inside of her purse in order to find her phone. Once finding it, she flipped it open to see Kasamatsu's name light up the screen, clicking the talk button, Kyou tried to pull her nerves together before she embarrassed herself on the phone. "Hello?"
"Kyou?" Came the husky voice of her long time friend and senpai.
"Hey, Kasamatsu-senpai." Kyou greeted, attempting her best at hiding the nervousness that was beginning to rise within her. "How are you?"
"I'm great, Kyou. I just wanted to call to see if you were okay. You didn't show up to school today..." Kasamatsu said in a soft tone.
"I was just a bit tired senpai. I wasn't feeling the best so I decided to stay home today, sorry for worrying you."
Kyou could hear a soft sigh from the receiver. "That's good...I was worried you were avoiding me or something."
"No...it wasn't that."
"Oh, good." There was a pause in his words, as if he were hesitant to say whatever he had planned to say. "Look, I know this is soon and that it's really late right now, but I was wondering if you were interested in having dinner with me tonight."
"Sure."
"Like I said, I know it's sudden but just hear me out. It doesn't even have to be dinner, it could be lunch or even us going out for coffee. We could even just take a wal-... Wait, what was that?" Kyou's quick reply had almost went unnoticed by the dark-haired man but once he realized just what she had said, he was rather surprised at how easily she agreed. He was almost uncertain that he had heard her correctly.
Her laugh brought him back to reality and even bring a grin to his face. Boy, did he miss her laugh. It was like music to his ears, ringing into the deepest parts of his heart and filling him with joy.
"I said sure, I'd love to."
His heart fluttered at her words as he silently pumped his fist in victory. Oh yes, he would definitely make sure to show Kyou just how good he would be for her.
She deserved a man that would love her unconditionally. One that would never cheat, abandon or abuse her. And he was just that guy. "So, um," he licked his lips in between words, thinking over the best place to take her. He was going to avoid taking her anywhere that would make her uncomfortable or a place where they could run into someone they knew. "How about I pick you up, say around six?"
Blue eyes glanced to her wristwatch. It's currently four, so she had two hours to get ready. It wasn't a lot of time and she had to pick Kyouta up from school, she also promised that they would go out to eat ice cream to celebrate him becoming a starter and captain of the boys' basketball team. "That sounds good. So is it a date?" Kyou questioned playfully.
"WAH!? A d-d-d-date?" He would consider his invitation to be a date, but he was unsure if Kyou regarded their outing that way. Hanging out maybe, most likely a meet-up between two friends, but a date? He was pleasantly surprised at her remark.
He could hear her giggle. "If you don't want to consider it that way, I understand."
"No, it's a date!" Kasamatsu exclaimed as a slight blush crept onto his cheeks.
"Okay then, bye senpai."
After saying a quick goodbye, they both hung and as cheered in delight. Kyou found herself laughing. She couldn't believe why she was so worried in the first place. That was actually a lot easier than she thought it would be. But then again, it was Kasamatsu. Kise would have been a whole other story.
She smiling to herself as she imagined the date. Even if things didn't end the best for them when it comes to a relationship, she was fairly certain that tonight would still be rather enjoyable. The only thing that really worried her was if this did turn sour, would it affect her friendship with him?
She quickly shook her head, trying her best to disregard the negative thought. Putting her phone back into the purse, Kyou opened the front door and called out to Satsuki. "I'm going to change and then go pick Kyouta up Satsuki, can you heat up some nikujaga for Kyouta to eat?"
"Roger!" Satsuki happily exclaimed as the sound of the stove fire instantly came on. Satsuki feeling extremely pleased that at least someone is going to appreciate her hard work.
And with that said, Kyou rushed up the stairs and headed towards her bedroom. Making her way to her closet, she pulled the door open and walked inside. Staring at the abundant amount of clothing that resided in her closet, she began to throw the clothes out her closet and onto her bed. Kyou realized as she gazed at the different outfits, that she wasn't certain of what exactly she should wear. Casual, elegant, in between? As minutes quickly pasted by, she finally figured something out before running in and taking a quick shower.
When the water was finally warm, Kyou stripped out of her pajamas and stepped into the shower. She merrily hummed to herself as she ran the loofah over her petite body and quickly washed her hair with her peach and sakura blossom shampoo. Kyou didn't have much time to get ready, but she didn't want to be late for their first date.
As she shut off the water, Kyou abruptly pulled the shower curtains aside as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body. Taking damp steps as she headed out of the bathroom and sat down in front of the dresser, Kyou plugged in the hairdryer and quickly dried her teal locks. When her hair was finally dry, Kyou curled her long teal locks. She grabbed her chosen outfit and quickly slipped it on. The dress she was currently wearing was a high neck dress, the dress hugged her petite waist and accentuated her figure. The skirt ended a little above her knees with layers of lacy fabric, and to top it of, Kyou slipped on black stockings and a pair of black bow heels. The dress was off-white, giving Kyou an angelic and innocent aura.
Seeing that she finally looked ready, she briskly ran down the stairs and put on her coat and scarf.
"Take an umbrella before you go!" Satsuki hollered from the kitchen.
Grabbing an umbrella before she left, Kyou closed the door. Her Caribbean blue eyes could only watch as raindrops suddenly fell heavily from the grey sky.
"It did rain after all..." She allowed her eyes to slip close, inhaling the fresh scent of water that smothered the city, and savoring the continuous pattering sound of the rain as it hit the pavement and pound against the roof top above her.
One of the things that she found enjoyable was the rain. She liked sitting on the front porch, relaxing as she curled up in a chair, reading her favorite novel as she listened to the rain fall and hit everything it touched.
Kyou suddenly sneezed, opening her eyes as she wiped her red nose and pulled the scarf around her neck even tighter. She then opened her umbrella as she walked out from the protection of the front porch, the rain assaulted her umbrella with heavy drops as her heels splashed into nearby puddles along the path to Taiyou elementary.
"Okay class...settle down. I have an announcement to make, so sit in your seats." Tanaka-sensei said as he stood in front of the class.
The children quickly headed for their seats and sat down as the soon quieted down. The noise of soft whispering could be heard throughout the classroom as Tanaka-sensei cleared his throat. "Is everybody listening?" He questioned as he eyed the children.
"Yes!" They all exclaimed in unison.
"Now that you are all seated, I want you to turn in your notebooks to class monitor Satou before you go home. Now, with that said, you are all dismissed."
And with that, the children yelled "Hurray!" Jumping out of their seats in excitement as they grabbed their bags, and made a beeline to the classroom door.
"W-wait class! Settle down! Remember that you can only go home if your parents or guardians are here. And for the others who don't have and don't need their parents or guardian to pick them up—" The children stopped their cheering to hear what the teacher was going to say. The teacher sighed, "Just go home safe kids." He finally said and the children replied with a "YES!" as they went back to cheering and hurriedly leaving the classroom.
"Are you ready to go home Kyouta?" Daisuke exclaimed as he ran over to Kyouta's desk, with his black backpack strapped to his back, he looked ready to go home for the day.
"Yeah, just give me a second to grab my things-ssu." Kyouta said happily as he put his notebooks into his backpack and gathered the rest of his belongings.
"But what's with you Kyouta?" Daisuke stared at Kyuta's face. "It's a little gross to see you all smiley, did something good happen?" Daisuke questioned as he pulled Kyouta's cheeks to enlarge the already huge smile on his face.
Kyouta swatted Daisuke's hand in annoyance as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. "My mama said she's going to take me out to eat ice cream that's why. So blame her for the reason I'm grossly smiling-ssu."
Daisuke's eyes widened with surprise. "Your mama?! Wow, my mom never takes me out for ice cream. She said it's because I'll get fat that's why."
Kyouta glanced at Daisuke. "I see what your mom's talking about though...you look like you gained some weight-ssu."
"What do ya mean?!" Daisuke flexed his arm. "This is pure muscle, muscle! You must be blind to not see my bulging biceps! These muscles are what makes me a great center you know?"
"Sure, sure." Kyouta laughed as he continued to listen to his best friend's rambling. "But where's your mom Daisuke? She's usually here by now-ssu."
Daisuke shrugged his shoulders as they walked out of the classroom and headed towards the shoe lockers. "She's probably waiting for me outside as usual, but did you bring your umbrella today? I heard that it's going to be raining cats and dogs."
He shook his head. "No, I didn't bring my umbrella today." He stared at the sky through the hallway windows. "Plus I don't think it's gonna rain. I mean, there isn't a single grey cloud in the sky, how could it rain when the weather is this clear-ssu?"
"Well I guess...but you don't wanna be too sure. Anyway, do you want to come over at my house? We could eat dinner there and play some basketball." The boy asked, beaming with delight at the thought of playing some 1-on-1 with his best friend.
"Nah, my mom said that she's gonna pick me up today but thanks for the offer though-ssu."
"You sure?" Daisuke questioned with as a frown formed on the boy's lips.
"Yeah-ssu." Kyouta replied apologetically as they then arrived at the shoe lockers.
"Your loss!" Daisuke exclaimed as opened his shoe locker and pulled off his slippers. "I'll walk you to the front gate, so hurry up Kyouta!"
"Slow down Daisuke! Jeez, your mom isn't going anywhere-ssu!" Kyouta turned back to his locker and opened it. Putting his slippers inside of his shoe locker as he threw his sneakers on the floor, Kyouta smiled giddily as he remembered the beautiful smile on his mama's face. She promising him that morning that they would go eat ice cream after school was over.
With ice cream being his favorite dessert, why wouldn't he accept her offer? He had a strawberry ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles with his name written all over it.
Tying his shoelaces in a hurry, he sloppily tied them as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and slammed his locker closed.
Kyouta turned to look at Daisuke. "C'mon, let's go-ssu." But as they reached the school's front entrance, his Caribbean blue eyes widened in surprise when he found that the clear blue sky was suddenly replaced by the pouring rain.
"I told you that it was going to rain!" Daisuke exclaimed as he gave a know-it-all look at Kyouta.
A small pout started to form on Kyouta's face as he stared at the wet scenery.. "Ugh...I didn't bring an umbrella today. Did you bring yours Daisuke-ssu?"
Daisuke chuckled nervously. "Why did you think I asked you? I didn't bring mine either..."
Kyouta smacked Daisuke's head as he let out a yell of pain. "You really are a muscle brain sometimes. I guess the quote of 'all brawn and no brains' applies to you after all Daisuke-ssu."
Daisuke rubbed his head to sooth the pain that Kyouta had inflicted on him. "That's rude of you Kyouta! My lowest test grade ever was an 30! My brain isn't that bad!"
Kyouta sighed as he opened his backpack, he shuffled the contents inside with the hopes of finding something that could shield himself from the rain, but unfortunately his luck wasn't with him today because everything in his backpack was practically useless.
Kyouta sighed as he looked up to stare at the grey, cloudy sky. Mama said that she would wait for me at the front gate, so I guess I could just run out and find some shelter near there...
"Um...excuse me?" A light voice called out to him.
Kyouta's thoughts were cut off when he looked back to see a girl around his age looking at him shyly, her group of friends stood by her closely, giggling amongst themselves as they watched the two. The girl had brown hair that were tied into twin tails. He could see her fidgeting in his presence, a blush creeping to her cheeks as she hid something behind her back.
He stared at her for a moment. Who is she? Have I met her before? I think she is from class 4-D, her name was...Ito, no...Inoue Megumi? I think I've seen her at basketball practice.
Daisuke gawked at the girl in front of them as he turned to whisper to Kyouta. "Kyouta, do you know this girl? Is she one of your followers?"
"I don't know her really, just seen her around basketball practice sometimes...and I have followers!?" Kyouta whispered back with surprise as he continued to wonder why the girl wanted to even talk to him.
"Ano.." She fidgeted slightly as her light pink blush slowly grew red.
Kyouta looked back at her and gave her a polite smile. "Umm...hey, did you need something-ssu?"
"I heard you talking earlier Kyouta-kun...a-and I heard your problem...so..." Her voice gradually grew softer as she spoke.
He took a step closer to her. Smiling apologetically as he raked his finger through his teal locks. "Sorry, but can you speak a little louder? I can't really hear you-ssu."
"Ah!" She jerked forward in surprise. "Sorry Kyouta-kun! What I meant to say was..." Her brown eyes suddenly met Kyouta's Caribbean blue ones, surprising the boy when she suddenly pushing an orange striped umbrella into his arms. "You can use my umbrella Kyouta-kun!"
"Wah! Your popularity never cease to amaze me Kyouta!" Daisuke said in surprise.
His eyes widened as he stared at the orange umbrella in his arms, looking back at the girl, he handed her umbrella back to her. "You don't have to do this for me, I'm sorry but I can't use your umbrella-ssu."
Silence.
"Oh..." The girl suddenly looked down with disappointment, her entire face growing crimson as she stared at her feet with embarrassment.
Kyouta noticing her disappointment, gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not like I didn't want want to use your umbrella! It's just that I didn't want a girl like you to get all wet in the rain. You could get sick-ssu."
Hearing his statement, she looked up at Kyouta with hope in her eyes. "I-It's alright really! I'm strong and I could just share an umbrella with one of my friends."
He shook his head. "I can't do that. As a gentleman, I can't accept your kind offering but thanks anyway-ssu."
Shoving the umbrella to his arms once more, the girl gave him a small smile. "Please I insist, I want you to use it Kyouta-kun."
Kyouta was starting to contemplate whether it was a good idea to take her offering since she kept insisting on him to use it. He didn't really want to, but she was kind enough to offer him her umbrella to shield him from the rain.
"Use it Kyouta! I mean, what's the harm? She is offering it for you to use." Daisuke whispered. "I think we'd need it."
"You're only saying that because you wanted to share the umbrella with me. It hurts my feelings that you are using me for an umbrella-ssu." Kyouta replied in a fake hurt-tone.
"Obviously! Where else am I going to remain dry if you don't have an umbrella Kyouta! Do you want me to get sick?" Daisuke said as he semi-yelled/whispered at him.
"Yes-ssu." he deadpanned.
"Hidoi!"
Kyouta sighed as he turned back to face the girl with a soft smile on his lips. "Okay, I'll accept your kind offer. Thank you for the umbrella. I'll make sure I return it to you tomorrow-ssu."
"O-Okay!" The girl exclaimed with happiness as she ran off with a huge smile on her face.
Kyouta watched as he saw her join her group of friends, cheerfully chattering to each other with excitement as they disappeared into the rain. Staring back at the orange striped umbrella in his arms, he pulled open the umbrella and started to walk out into the pouring rain. "C'mon Daisuke, if you don't hurry I'll leave you behind-ssu."
"Oi! Wait for me Kyouta!" Daisuke yelled as he ran after Kyouta.
The sound of the camera shutter could be heard repeatedly throughout the studio.
"That's it! Hold it! That pose is absolutely perfect!" The photographer shouted as he rapidly snapped away at the handsome man in front of him. Kise was posing in his newest photo album for the new season: Kise Ryouta The Summer Collection. Kise currently had his hand running through his blonde locks, a playful smirk adorned on his lips as he threw the camera a seductive wink.
The photographer adjusted the lens of his camera as he snapped picture after picture, repositioning the camera at different angles as he continued to take pictures of Kise. After a few photos, the photographer gave a satisfied smile as he then signaled to Kise that he was finished. "Great job everybody and that's a wrap! The shoot is done for the day!"
Kise sighed as he relaxed out of his pose. He had roamed around Japan for three weeks, visiting different locations to take a variety of pictures for his summer collection.
But because of his unexpected departure around the country, he wasn't able to clear the bad air between them. Within that time, he had been desperately thinking of ways to make amends with her. He thought of countless ideas, but to no avail, the ideas that he brainstormed weren't that great. Knowing Kyou, she wasn't one for material things. She being a person who held sentimental feelings for objects that hold deep value to her, the idea of giving her gifts was definitely out. A long talk with her would have to be out as well, Kyou didn't even want to give him a chance to talk things out with her, making it difficult for him to even utter a milliliter of his feelings for her. Well, unless he had the possibility of kidnapping her and forcing her to listen to his pleas, but realistically, Kise knew that was impossible.
"Kise-kun! Are you ready to go?" His manager called out to him.
Snapping out of his thoughts. Kise gave his manager a smile. "I'm about done. Why do you ask Fukudacchi?"
She gave Kise a mischievous smirk. "Because my dear boy, there is going to be a small after-party for the shoot. And you know what that means right Kise-kun?"
Kise shook his head obliviously as an uncertain grin appeared on his face. "I don't know what you mean Fukudacchi."
Fukuda dramatically sighed. "If there is an after-party, there is free booze! Wherever there is free alcohol, I'll be there. So are you coming?"
Kise laughed meekly as he declined her offer. "Sorry, I don't feel like drinking today. I think I'll just head home."
"Hmm...okay, your loss. Call me when you get home okay."
He nodded. "Alright, I'll call you then, see you tomorrow Fukudacchi. Don't drink too much." Kise said as grabbed his things and waved to her goodbye.
"No promises." Fukuda joked. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see a drunk voice mail in your phone."
After that was said, Kise exited the studio with numerous goodbyes as he walked to the parking lot and headed towards his yellow Ferrari. But suddenly, he felt a drop of water land on his head. Curiously looking up to see where the drop had come from, he was suddenly showered with rain. The raindrops gradually soaked his clothes as he rushed towards the Ferrari. Kise quickly opened the car door to avoid the rain and situated himself in the car.
He watched the rain pound against his windshield. Kise let out a nostalgic smile. "Kyou used to love the rain..."
Kise watched the rain for a minute or two before he turned on the car and started driving home. Turning on the street, he noticed the school that he saved that boy from before.
"What was that school called? Tsuki? No, Taiyou..." Kise mumbled to himself as he slowed down to the stop light. He turned his head when he saw a bunch of students going out of Taiyou elementary school.
I guess it's time for them to go home now.
Kise then spotted a familiar looking kid in front of the school gates. Kyouta was talking to another kid with chestnut colored hair, they talking animatedly as they shared an orange striped umbrella. Suddenly a woman approached them, the chestnut haired boy turned back to Kyouta and waved goodbye before he left with that woman. Kyouta returned the boy's wave as he silently watched them disappear amongst the crowds of people on the street.
Kise didn't know why, but he had a feeling that he wanted to talk to the boy. Their conversation was unexpectedly cut short the last time they spoke, and he found the seven-year old boy interesting to talk to.
He pulled up towards the curb of an ice cream shop that was across the street from the school and put his Ferrari in park. Grabbing his black umbrella from the backseat, he opened the door and pulled his umbrella open. Kise crossed the street and made his way to Kyouta, silently approaching the boy until Kyouta looked up when he noticed the tall man's presence.
Kyouta's eyes sparked with admiration when he saw the man. "Oh! It's you again mister! Umm...Kise-san was it-ssu?"
A soft smile appeared on his lips as Kise chuckled lightly. "Glad that you remember me Kyouta."
A bright smile appeared on Kyouta's face. "I'm a smart kid! My mama said it's rude if I don't remember the faces of the people who helped me-ssu."
Kise nodded his head. "That's true. I guess your mom is still a very smart lady isn't she?"
"Of course she is, she's my mama." Kyouta proudly exclaimed. "But anyway, why are you here Kise-san? Aren't you busy with work or something-ssu?" He asked.
"You could say that, I was just heading home when I spotted you. I wanted to say hello." Kise answered as he turned back to stare at the greying scenery. "How about you Kyouta? What are you doing? Waiting for your mom to pick you up?"
Kyouta nodded his head. "Yeah, my mama said that she was going to pick me up today, she promised that we'd eat ice cream after school-ssu."
"Oh really?" Kise then pointed at the ice cream shop directly across the street. "At that shop over there?"
"Yeah! She said she'd pick me up pretty soon, but she's late..." Kyouta mumbled with disappointment as a worried look started to show on his face as he quickly glanced at his wristwatch. "It's been 10 minutes already, I wonder where she is-ssu?"
Kise didn't know why, but his hand instinctively landed on Kyouta's head. "She'll come soon..." He stroked his teal locks gently as he crouched down to Kyouta's eye level and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's probably traffic from the weather, I'm sure she's running to see you."
"I hope so." Kyouta murmured as a small smile formed on his lips. "Thanks-ssu..."
Silence fell between the two, as the rain suddenly started to pour. The streets of Tokyo was soon drenched in the downpour of rain, the streets started to grow empty as the usual bustle of people ran to find shelter, leaving the two alone in front of Taiyou elementary.
Kise turned to look at the small boy besides him. "It's starting to rain pretty hard, what are you gonna do Kyouta? Wait out here?"
"I told my mama that I'd be in front of the school...but I don't know how long I could wait in this weather."
Kise grew silent as started to think. "How about you wait in that ice cream shop?" Kise suggested. "You can borrow my phone to give her a call and I'll wait with you until your mom comes."
A look of worry flashed in Kyouta's blue eyes. "I don't want to trouble you anymore Kise-san. You helped me so many times before-ssu..."
Kise quickly ruffled Kyouta's hair as the boy let out a yelp in surprise. "It's okay if you keep troubling me. It's not like you are forcing me to help you or anything and besides, I want to help you."
"Why do you want to help me Kise-san? There's no reason for you to stay with me when you have other things to do-ssu."
With an umbrella in his hand, Kise started to head towards the ice cream shop. "I dunno why but you're a good kid and it's fun talking to you. My instincts are telling me that I should stick with you for a while that's all." Turning to look back at Kyouta, a smile creeped onto his cheeks. "Is that a bad reason?"
Kyouta smiled as he shook his head. "Not really." His sneakers splashed into puddle after puddle as he ran to Kise's side. "But if you are waiting with me, you should treat me to some ice cream you know, its common courtesy after all-ssu."
Hearing the young boy's statement made Kise laugh. "I guess I could treat you. But isn't your mom taking you out to eat ice cream as well? You could ruin your appetite before dinner." Kise lectured.
"What my mama doesn't know, won't hurt her!" Kyouta whispered as he put a finger to his lips."It'll be our little secret right-ssu?"
Kise leaned towards the boy and ruffled his teal locks. "Right, our little secret."
Walking into the ice cream shop, they saw that the store was crowded full of people taking shelter from the rain, they approached the counter and looked at the menu conveniently placed on front for buying customers to view as they waited in line.
Glancing through the menu, he took a peek at the boy beside him, Kise could only smile when he saw the amusing expression Kyouta had besides him. With a mouth full of drool and blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires, Kyouta looked as if he was on cloud nine by the variety of flavors available for him to devour.
"I'm buying, so don't hold back. Choose anything that you want."
"Really?!" Kyouta stared at the menu with a serious expression on his face. "Then..." Kyouta looked up at the cashier with a huge smile on his face. "I want a strawberry sundae in a cone! Oh, and with chocolate sprinkles on top!"
The woman behind the counter chuckled, putting in Kyouta's order as she glanced at Kise. "What would you be having then sir?"
"Hmm...I guess I'm getting a plain vanilla ice cream cone." Kise said absentmindedly as he browsed through the menu once again. Even though I am craving a strawberry cone...
"That'll be $5.25." The woman said as she began preparing their orders.
Kise pulled out his wallet and placed the money on the counter, also throwing in two extra dollars in the tip jar as the woman handed him and Kyouta their ice cream cones.
"Thank you for the patronage!"
They both sat down across from each other in a small booth located in the corner of the shop. Kise fondly watched as Kyouta devoured his cone which consisted of three scoops of strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, strawberry syrup, strawberry jam & chocolate sprinkles. He seems to be enjoying it...
Lost in his thoughts as he watched the boy, Kise forgotten that he was still holding his vanilla cone, the ice cream started dripping and melt in his grip.
"Kise-san! Your ice cream, It's melting-ssu!" Kyouta exclaimed as he quickly grabbed some napkins and wiped up Kise's hand.
"Ah!" Kise exclaimed with surprise as he tried to lick the drippings. But as the sweet taste of vanilla started to seep into his taste-buds, he cringed at the flavor, not noticing that Kyouta was staring at him.
"You know Kise-san, you shouldn't have ordered that if you didn't like it-ssu"
Kise chuckle wearily. "I question why I ordered it myself..."
Kyouta tilted his head in confusion. "You don't like ice cream-ssu?"
Kise shook his head. "No, I love it actually."
"Then why do you order vanilla if you hate it-ssu?"
Kise paused, he becoming silent as he tried his best to muster a good answer. "It's an guy thing. You'll understand once you get older."
Kyouta pouted his cheeks and crossed his arms across his chest. "I am totally a big kid Kise-san, practically an adult if I must add-ssu!"
"Yeah, yeah. What are you? Practically five-years old?" Kise teased as pinched the boy's cheek.
"Seven actually, and don't forget it-ssu!" Kyouta declared as he stuffed more strawberry ice cream in his mouth. "It's probably not even that big of a deal! Does it involve a girl-ssu?"
His golden eyes widened in surprise when he heard the sudden question. "Why do you ask?"
Kyouta shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno why, but my mama says that a guy could go crazy because of a girl." Kyouta stated a matter-of-factly. "Whenever men have something they don't want to talk about it usually involves a girl right-ssu!"
Kise chuckled at the younger boy's reasoning and shook his head. "It doesn't involve a girl, but it does involve my male pride though."
Kyouta scoffed as he took a huge bite of whipped cream. "What does pride have to do with ice cream? If you like ice cream, why don't you order a flavor you like Kise-san?" I'm so lucky that I'm a kid, the adult world sure is complicated-ssu."
"It sure is..." Kise mumbled as he watched the teal-haired boy eat the ice cream bit by bit. Kyouta's face growing messy by the bits of his strawberry sundae remaining on his cheeks and mouth. Grabbing a few napkins, he gently wiped the sticky cream off Kyouta's face, as he did it, Kise suddenly remembered something from the past.
-Flashback-
"Sorry about the long practices Kyou. Are you sure you're okay with waiting for me?" Kise asked as he closed the gym doors behind them. He had been practicing more and more recently, and with his late practice schedule, Kyou had been waiting for him longer than usual. But being the person she was, she didn't mind the wait. Kyou cheered him on and helped the team here and there as a part-time manager.
"I never really thought about it, it's fun to hang out with the rest of the team and I like helping out whenever I can, so I don't mind waiting. You don't have to feel guilty." Kyou replied as they began walking off of school grounds and in the direction of the closest convenience store.
The two of them walked in silence from that point on, although Kyou didn't really seem to mind the lack of conversation. It was nice just enjoying the sunny weather with Kyou, who was happily humming a tune with a blithe smile on her face. He really did admire her disposition. It seemed that she always managed to see the positives in every situation, something that he wished that he could do himself.
They stopped in front of the local convenience store, one that Kise often visited to buy drinks and snacks for the team whenever he had time. It wasn't a chain store, something that was in common with most of the stores in Tokyo. It turned out that a lot of the people who lived in the area had a habit of frequenting the same stores and tended to support smaller family stores, which made it much harder for large chains to encroach on Tokyo's storefronts.
"Hello, Kyou-chan." The store owner, a elderly woman who had been tending to the counter for as long as Kise could remember, greeted as they walked in, causing a small bell to ring with the opening of the door.
"Hi there!" Kyou replied with a friendly wave that made the woman light up instantly. She found that Kyou often had that effect on people, and her work was never more evident than when he spoke to Kasamatsu-senpai. As far as he knew, she was the only person that was not met with a embarrassed stammer when trying to converse with Kasamatsu, who was just as vulnerable to Kyou's infectious smile and warm personality.
"Oh, Ryouta-chan, you're here too? Don't tell me, you two are on a date." The owner guessed with a sly grin on her face that made his golden orbs widened in surprise.
"Eh, how'd you know that baa-chan?" He questioned, they had just started going out and had kept their relationship low scale. It wasn't that he didn't want anybody to know that he was dating Kyou, because he definitely would. But with him being a popular model, he didn't want to her to fall victim to his large female fan base and make her feel uncomfortable when they are dating, which was the last thing he wanted to do.
"My woman's intuition is always right Ryouta-chan. I've seen couples come and go here in this small store, I know when love is in the air." The older woman said with a nod, although the wink that she fired at Kise implied that she would keep their secret safe. "Treat her well."
"Say, Ryouta, which type of popsicle do you want?" Kyou asked, face pressed up against the freezer that held a dazzling assortment of ice cream and popsicles that made him feel hungry just staring at them, knowing that only a few centimeters of glass were separating him and the frozen morsels. Instantly, his eyes were drawn to a familiar pink packaging that he knew to be of the Gari-Gari Kun strawberry flavor. Kise's hand quickly followed his eyes, leading him to point directly at his desired treat.
"Oh, you like strawberry too?" Kyou remarked as she pulled open the freezer door, blasting both of them with a refreshing icy breeze that made Kise's hair stand on end for a split second before Kyou closed the door, subjecting them once more to the stifling heat of the rapidly approaching summer.
He grabbed the two popsicles he had picked out from her hands before he trotted off to the counter and pulled out his wallet, intending to pay for both of them. However, Kyou usually wasn't one to allow others to pay for her, and thus, she quickly made her way to his side, stopping him in the middle of handing the owner her money, "I have enough money with me to pay for my own."
Kise merely smiled and shook his head before he handed the woman the money in his hands, "Don't worry about it. Think of it as thanks for keeping me company from practice."
"Oh, okay." She relented, knowing that getting into an argument with Kise over such a trivial issue was not going to end favorably for her. Knowing just how stubborn Kise was, there was absolutely no way that he would have accepted her paying him back in any way, as much as Kyou would like to.
"Well, good luck, you two!" The owner shouted as they exited her store, leaving behind a ringing bell in their wake.
Simultaneously, Kise and Kyou both ripped open their wrappers and tossed them in the trash, leaving them with only their deep pink popsicles on flimsy wooden sticks in their hands. Kise gently licked the frozen treat, shivering at the cool sensation traversing the length of his tongue as he did so. Meanwhile, beside him, Kyou did the same, running her tongue up and down the icy bar, not noticing the way that Kise had gaped at her before returning to his own popsicle, which was already showing a slight hint of melting.
"Hey, Ryou-chan!"
Kise stopped in his tracks and turned around to see his classmate, Aoki Narumi, running up behind them in a desperate effort to catch up. His light brown hair, bobbing around as he approached them at a fast pace, waving his hand wildly as he approached the two.
"It's Ryouta, for the last time Aokicchi. It's embarrassing that you call me anything else." Kise moaned in exasperation. It seemed that no matter how long he had known the guy, he would never get his name right without some correction on Kise's part. Was it really so hard to remember his whole name?
"All right, all right." Aoki answered, disregarding Kise's protest.
"Good afternoon, Aoki-san." Kyou greeted warmly from Kise's side, instantly eliciting a response from Aoki, whose face flashed pink. Kise almost rolled his eyes at his friend's reaction to the younger underclassman, which was anything but subtle.
"O-oh, good afternoon, Kyou-chan." Aoki stammered, trying to avoid her friendly gaze as best as he could, but failing miserably. Kise already knew that his friend had a crush on Kyou, and for obvious reasons. However, since Kyou was his girlfriend, he felt a small pang of annoyance at the fact that Kyou didn't seem to notice it at all, and yet, was happily going through pleasantries with the brown haired boy, who was now doing his best impression of a tomato.
"Hey, Aokicchi I'll talk to you tomorrow, all right?" Kise interrupted, grabbing a confused Kyou by the hand and dragging her along with him, leaving a confused Aoki behind them with no intention of looking back.
"Hey, Ryouta, did I do something wrong?" Kyou asked after they had put a good distance between them and Aoki. Kise stopped at her words, realizing what he had just done in the haste of the moment. Somehow, his feet had instinctively taken him down the sidewalk towards the bridge hanging over the busy road, and they were now standing at the bridge, dropped popsicle drippings as it melted all over the concrete floor.
Kise had no idea what propelled him to speak, but before he knew what he was doing, Kise allowed the words to spill from his mouth, "What exactly do you think of Aoki?"
"What do you mean?" She inquired, trying to think back as to what he was trying to reference. Kise knew that it was unfair for him to put her on the spot like that, but he had just spouted the question out of nowhere.
"Don't lie. You think he's cute, don't you?" Kise asked with a defeated expression, mixed with a tinge of frustration. He wasn't stupid, and slowly, he was starting to realize the meaning behind his annoyance at Kyou's interactions with his friend.
He was jealous. He hated all the guys that had stared and leered at his beautiful girlfriend whenever she passed by, she being completely innocent to their roaming eyes.
For the first time that day, Kyou frowned a bit, not in anger, but in concern. By any standard, Kise was acting strange, and she definitely wanted to get to the bottom of it before it became a recurring thing. Thus, she decided that placing a hand on his forehead was the best option, to gauge whether or not he had been afflicted with a fever. Even though she could barely reach him since Kise was a good foot taller than her.
"Are you feeling okay?" She mumbled, while Kise's heart almost leapt up into his throat at her sudden contact. He gulped deeply as Kise felt his breath quicken, just as Kyou realized how close her face was to his own. Her face suddenly turned scarlet with a blush, and she immediately pulled her hand away, mumbling an apology. "Sorry."
"No..." Kise murmured as he awkwardly ruffled his golden locks. "Don't be sorry, it's my fault with the way I acted. Y'know, with the weird question I asked about you and Aokicchi."
A small smile creeped on her cheeks. "With Aoki-san being cute and all? Yeah, that was a bit weird." Kyou fell silent as she gazed at the ongoing cars passing by below them. "But why did you ask me that Ryouta?"
He frowned shyly. "Because..."
"Because?"
A slight blush colored his cheeks as his honey-colored eyes met with her Caribbean blue ones. "You're so cute and all...I don't like it when guys look at you like that."
Her smile grew as she started giggle profusely. "Pfft...you don't have to worry, I only have my eyes on you Ryouta." A teasing smile appeared on her pink lips. "Besides, I have the cutest boyfriend after all!"
Kise's blush grew as he heard her teasing remark. "A man doesn't like to be heard that they're cute Kyou!" Kise whined as her giggling continued.
"Ah! The popsicles!" Kyou exclaimed as she felt the sticky mess running down her fingers. "Such a waste...sorry about that." Kyou apologized, gesturing to the ruined snack that were now lying in puddle of sugar on the ground in between them.
"It's fine, I can always buy more." Kise chuckled, trying to lighten the mood with some laughter, which he always found to be the best solution to an awkward situation such as the one he had just found himself in.
"No, let me pay you back." Kyou insisted, reaching for her wallet.
Kise sheepishly shook his head, "Don't. I can't accept any money from you."
Kyou stopped rifling through her school bag in search of her wallet and shook her head in mix of admiration and disbelief. Suddenly, a plan flashed into her mind that made her cheeks redden as the thought formulated.
"Well then, let me pay you back some other way." Kyou breathed shakily, cautiously stepping forward, so that she was a few measly inches apart from Kise. If not for the fact that Kise had quite the height advantage over her, she would have been face to face with him. Before he could quite comprehend what she was doing, Kyou gently grabbed him by his collar and pulled his head down so that their lips were smashed up against each other in a chaste kiss, with their cumulative inexperience showing in spades as Kyou struggled to wrap her other arm around his broad shoulders and Kise clumsily maneuvered his hand to Kyou's lower back in an effort to bring her petite figure closer to him. The two of them closed their eyes as they began to settle into the sensation of the other, and slowly savored the tangy taste of popsicles on each other's lips.
After what had seemed like an eternity, the two of them finally pulled apart, each blushing furiously and panting slightly at the intensity of their kiss. Kyou was the first to speak afterwards, breaking the silence.
"I think that should make us even." She managed, senses on overload as the realization that she had just kissed her incredibly handsome boyfriend began to finally sink in.
For his part, Kise merely licked his lips, lapping up ever last bit of sticky melted strawberry goodness that had come from Kyou's mouth, before he flashed his famous smile and nodded in agreement with her assessment.
"Maybe I need to start buying you some more strawberry popsicles."
-End of Flashback-
Kise couldn't help but grin at the memory. He looked at the vanilla mess in his hand as he watched the ice cream slowly melt and drip on the table. I should have ordered some strawberry ice cream... He was suddenly snapped out of reality when he heard the voice of a familiar teal-haired boy calling out to him.
"Hey Kise-san! What's wrong? Why are you grinning like some idiot?" Kyouta questioned as he stared at the huge grin spread across Kise's face. "You thinking about a girl?"
Kise nodded his head, the dumb smile still intact as he did so. "Yeah, I'm thinking about a girl."
"The girl you love?" Kyouta asked as he gobbled down the remains of his ice cream, not leaving a single chocolate sprinkle behind.
Giving one last glance at the innocent teal-haired boy across from him, he smiled widely. "Yes, the girl I love."
After two months of not updating, I wanna give a present to you guys of my longest chapter ever! With 10,252 words, I hope this makes up my lack of updating. ( bows )
I want to mention that I made a new fanfiction a while back called "Forced into Love" I hope you guys could read it as well and tell me how it is.
Thank you guys for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it. I also want to thank my readers who read, review, comment & favorite this story. I appreciate you guys for never giving up on me for so long, I will try to update as frequently as I can since I am going to be a senior next year ( senior citizen? hell naw ) but joking aside, arigatou gozaimasu minna-san! As always, please review, follow & fave to help give me motivation to write this fanfiction. Ja ne~ till next time.
