Chapter 12
"These are kind of heavy," Sousuke grunted. He was carrying a number of thick books under his left arm, as he entered Kaori's room hesitantly. He hadn't been in her room since they were much younger. It looked almost the same, with the exception of the now missing stuffed animal collection and Hello Kitty bedspread. Now there were pictures on the wall and plain blue sheets. "Kaori. Hey. Check if I got the right ones."
Kaori was sitting at her table, stacks of notes and books spread around her. Her pink hair was tied back in a messy bun and there were two pens sticking out of the hairtie that held it together. Sousuke wondered if she even remembered that she had put them there. She was chewing on the end of a third pen as she whirled around to face him. "Sousuke!" she cried out, her cheeks flushing. "I-I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. I only messaged you an hour ago."
Sousuke shrugged. "I came straight here. I didn't have any other work to do."
Kaori nodded, suddenly wondering what a horrible sight she must look in front of her boyfriend. She reached back to smooth down her hair, but all that happened was her fingers knocked one of the pens out of her bun and it clattered to the floor. "Sorry. I'm such a mess. Please don't look at me," she muttered with a sigh. She hurried over to take the books from Sousuke, who was wincing from their weight.
"Oye. These are heavy," he repeated as Kaori took them from him quickly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"And you call yourself a national-level athlete?" Kaori teased as she set the books down on her table and quickly began checking the titles. "Baka. You should carry them with both arms and stop trying to show off. Let's see… yes! You got them all!"
Sousuke smiled lightly as Kaori whirled around and threw her arms around his torso gratefully. "Thank you so much, Sousuke-kun! I was so worried that I would have to go all the way to the library to get these. And I've already issued as many books as I'm allowed under my library card, so…"
"Yeah, yeah," Sousuke replied with a grunt, prying her arms from around him and leaning down to kiss her flushed cheek. Kaori smiled up at him. He gently pushed her towards the desk again. "You keep studying. Don't get distracted. I'll leave, okay?"
Kaori pouted. "But you came all the way here! And I haven't seen you since you left for regionals!"
"And you have an entrance exam to write in less than two weeks."
Kaori frowned and glanced at the clock. It was almost 7 pm. She sighed and turned around to face Sousuke, giving him a determined look. "Give me half an hour to finish the chapter I'm on. Then I'll take a break and we can eat dinner. My parents went to some dinner party anyway, so you and I can go out for ramen."
"Can you really spare enough time to go out for dinner?" Sousuke asked doubtfully.
Kaori sighed. "Fine, fine. We'll order food in, are you happy? I just don't want you to leave so soon, since I haven't seen you in days! Please, Sousuke? Please, please, please?" she pleaded, her big eyes looking up at him innocently through her thick glasses. Sousuke sighed and nodded, unable to resist a small smile.
"Yes, okay. Finish that chapter, then. I'll wait."
Kaori grinned as she hurried back to her desk and smoothly slid into her chair. "Okay! Make yourself at home!" she told him as she picked up her pen and hurriedly began writing. Sousuke stood behind her chair for a few moments, watching her small hand flit over her notebook, before turning back. He glanced at the photographs she had pinned on her wall. Most of them were old. He saw a few of her family, one of Kisumi and baby Hayato, and a few of Kaori and himself in middle and elementary school. Sousuke smiled. The most recent one was a selfie that Kaori had taken of both of them at the ramen shop they always went to after her cram school. Kaori was smiling cheerfully, while Sousuke was looking away from the camera, his cheeks slightly pink.
Once he'd looked at all the pictures, he glanced around Kaori's room uncomfortably. There wasn't much he could do without disturbing her; and Kaori was already deep into her studies, mumbling things to herself as her pen scratched over the paper. Sousuke sat on the edge of her bed for a few moments. His shoulder was aching. He reached up to adjust the shoulder brace under his shirt, before lying back on the bed. He took a deep breath. The sheets smelled like Kaori and he sighed as he closed his eyes.
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Sousuke sighed as he exited the locker room. It was the first swimming tournament that he had entered since Rin had left for Australia. Despite the fact that he'd won first place in the butterfly race, he still couldn't shake the empty feeling. It wasn't the same, swimming without Rin. Sousuke rubbed the towel over his wet hair as the entered the corridor. He barely noticed the small, pink-haired girl waiting for him outside.
"Kaori-chan?" he asked, as he saw her. He blinked in surprise. Kaori was standing a little nervously, leaning against the wall. She smiled shyly as soon as she saw him.
"Sousuke-kun! Congratulations! I saw your race, you were really good," she told him nervously. Sousuke flushed slightly. Kaori had always come to their tournaments; but it had been different before. Then Rin had been swimming too, and Kisumi had been there. Sousuke hadn't expected her to come for just him. "K-kisumi says he's sorry he couldn't come. He joined the basketball team at his school and they have practice."
"That's okay," Sousuke said with a grin. "Arigato, Kaori-chan. I didn't know you would come to watch."
Kaori shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I-I always come to watch. And, um, here. I brought you this." She held out a small box, which contained a number of pocky sticks. Sousuke grinned as he recognized them.
"Home-made almond pocky?" he asked with a smile.
"Y-yes. It's your recipe. I tried it again after you taught me the other day, so I thought you might want to taste them." Kaori looked hopeful as Sousuke took one of the sticks and bit the end. He chewed it quickly and nodded.
"It's great," he told her happily. Kaori flushed and Sousuke smiled, gently ruffling her pink hair. "Thanks for making these for me. Come on. It's getting dark. I'll walk you home."
Kaori nodded and quickly hurried after the dark-haired boy as they both left the stadium.
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"Sousuke! Sousuke-kun, get up!" Kaori insisted, gently prodding the large swimmer that was fast asleep on her bed. Her cheeks were slightly red as she looked at her peaceful boyfriend. He looked adorable while he was sleeping. Kaori smiled at him as he slowly opened his drowsy, blue-green eyes.
"Eh-what?" he asked, his voice thick. Kaori bit her lip and leaned away from him. "You fell asleep. It's almost 9 pm. I finished studying and even made dinner!"
Sousuke sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Kuso. Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You looked tired. And I felt bad for making you come all the way out here just to bring me library books, so… I thought I would let you sleep. Do you want to eat? Or um… Well, the fireworks have started." Kaori smiled at him hopefully. "Do you maybe want to go watch them together?"
Sousuke blinked in surprise and then nodded. "All right. Let's go watch the fireworks."
Kaori beamed. "Okay!"
They walked down to the beach together. Kaori felt a light-heartedness in her chest. Despite the stress and tension she'd been going through recently for her impending exam, she was still glad that Sousuke was here with her. She'd wanted to watch the fireworks with him for a long time. The wind was slightly chilly and Kaori wrapped her arms around Sousuke's, tugging him closer to her.
"Uh, Kaori…" Sousuke looked down at her, his arm stiff in her grasp.
"Hmm?" Kaori blinked.
"Do you mind walking on the other side of me?" he asked, moving around to stand on her right so she could grab his left arm. Kaori blinked at him in surprise, but he just shrugged. "Sorry. It just feels more comfortable. Are you cold?"
Kaori shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine. Sousuke…"
"Hmm?"
"You've seemed happier since regionals ended. And when I called you on the bus, you said that you found something you'd been looking for. What was that?" she asked him quietly. "Was it… I mean, did something happen there? Because from what I remember, you guys lost to Iwatobi, so…"
Sousuke smiled as they arrived at the beach. There were already a number of paper lanterns going up into the air and lighting up the night sky. He looked up at them, before pulling Kaori closer to him. He placed a kiss on her head, his lips brushing her pink hair. "I realized that doesn't matter. I think I found some kind of a closure. It's hard to explain, Kaori. Come on, let's go closer and-"
Kaori shook her head, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back. "Sousuke, wait."
"What is it?" he asked, looking down at her purple eyes. They looked nervous.
"There's something I want to say," she whispered. "I… I know that you've been going through something ever since you came back here at the start of this year. I haven't been able to figure out what it is. I have my suspicions, but…" she shook her head. "Never mind. That's not the point. I know you were never the type of person to express your feelings freely. And I understand if you don't want to tell me whatever is going on."
Sousuke stiffened. "It's not that I don't want to tell you…"
Kaori shook her head. "No. It's okay. If you aren't telling me, that means it's something I won't be able to take or something you can't trust me with. And if that's the case, it's my own fault. So I can't really complain."
"Kaori…"
"And you seem much happier now. So maybe whatever it is has been resolved, right? At least somewhat." Kaori took a deep breath and looked up at him. "If there's something you want to tell me, then I'm always willing to listen. And if there's something you don't want to tell me… that's okay too. Because I trust you more than anyone else in the world."
Sousuke's eyes widened as Kaori whispered the last words nervously, looking him straight in the eye. He felt a sudden guilt rise in his stomach. What had he done to deserve her love so much? Biting his lip, he reach forward to pull Kaori into his arms, tightly, pressing her to his chest and nuzzling his face into her neck. Kaori gasped, but she clutched him in return. She could feel Sousuke's mumbled words whispered into her ear. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," Kaori replied quietly.
Sousuke pulled away from her and pressed his forehead to hers, gently taking her face in his hands. Kaori smiled and looked up at him sadly. "Why do I feel like… like a clock is ticking over our heads?" she whispered.
Sousuke took a deep breath. "The clock is always ticking, Kaori. Just because you don't notice it doesn't mean that it stops." He leaned forward and kissed her desperately, his fingers sliding into her soft hair. Kaori wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled Sousuke closer. The distant sound of the fireworks going off seemed far away. She gasped as he deepened the kiss, pulling their bodies flush against each other. Kaori felt her body tremble in his tight grip. After a long moment, she pulled away, breathing heavily. She took a deep breath and looked straight into his pained, blue-green eyes. "Y-you're okay, right? I just want to know that you're okay," she said.
"I'm fine," he replied quietly. "Are you?"
"As long as you're here, I'll always be fine," Kaori promised gently. She leaned forward and pecked his lips, blinking back the tears that had pooled in her eyes. "Look- we're missing the fireworks."
Sousuke nodded and smiled as they both turned to face the fireworks and watched them quietly. Kaori snuggled close into Sousuke's side, clutching his shirt with one fist as she watched the fireworks explode in the sky. She bit her lip and smiled when she spotted Nagisa and Rei standing a little distance away from them. Kaori grinned and waved, but neither of them noticed her.
"I'm sure that if Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun are here, Haru and Makoto must be nearby," Kaori mused quietly. She glanced at Sousuke, who calmly pointed upwards at the steps to the higher look-out point. Kaori blinked as she noticed Haru and Makoto. Something didn't seem right. "Are they… fighting?" she asked nervously.
Sousuke glanced up and then gently placed a hand on Kaori's head, forcing her gaze back down. "What does it matter? We all have to sort out our own problems. There's nothing you can do."
Kaori nodded quietly. "I guess…" She looked up at Sousuke quietly. Although I wish you wouldn't try to sort your problems out by yourself. I wish you would let me help.
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"No, I cannot babysit Hayato. What part of life-changing exam in 10 days do you not understand?" Kaori snapped angrily into her phone. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, books spread all around her. Her phone was pressed to one ear as she grasped her pen tightly in the other. "Kisumi, I'm hanging up now."
Kisumi pouted from the other end of the line. "Kaori-chan, please! I really like this girl and she finally agreed to go out with me! It's a dream come true!"
"Good for you," Kaori replied sharply. "I also really like Sousuke-kun and if I don't clear this exam, he'll be going to Tokyo alone at the end of the year. All right?"
Kisumi paused for a moment. "Good luck studying, you evil witch."
"Thank you," Kaori sighed in relief, before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. She glanced back at her books and took a deep breath. She finally had a week off from school, and she had to use this to get as much studying done as possible before her exam. She sighed as she forced herself to keep her eyes open and opened a new book. Maybe a change of subject would help her concentrate. But she couldn't. Her stomach started grumbling. Sighing, she grabbed her phone again and checked her messages. There was one from Sousuke.
Sousuke: Good morning. Study hard today. I'm at home for the vacation and I don't have much to do. Let me know if you need anything.
Kaori smiled. Samezuka had a week off too, right before nationals, and so all the students had gone home. Kaori was glad. Sousuke's home was much closer than his high school, which was why she didn't feel so bad about asking him to come over. Smiling, she typed in return.
Kaori: Sousuke. Food. Hungry.
His reply was almost instant.
Sousuke: You idiot. I'm coming.
He came over in a little over half an hour, carrying two simple bentos he'd made himself. Kaori beamed as he entered her room with the piping hot food and reached for it happily. Sousuke smiled fondly before handing her the lunchbox. Kaori took it with a grin, brushing aside some books so that he would have some space on the bed to sit.
"Wow! It smells so good! I forgot to eat breakfast, I've been studying since six am!" Kaori cried, before mumbling itadakimasu and stuffing a huge mouthful into her mouth. Sousuke chuckled. He adjusted himself on the bed, trying to ignore the sharp ends of books that he was practically sitting on.
"You must be starving. You should have called me before."
Kaori blinked. "I didn't see your message. I thought you might be with Rin."
"Rin went on a trip to Australia. He took Haruka-kun with him for some reason. It was kind of sudden, he didn't tell me very much," Sousuke said calmly, taking a bite. "So all I have left in this town are you and that annoying cousin of yours."
Kaori smiled, taking another mouthful of food and sighing. "I didn't know you were such a good cook, Sousuke-kun. If you weren't a swimmer, I would say that you should set up a restaurant!" she smiled at him cheekily. "Maybe after you retire, eh?"
Sousuke bit his lip as he glanced at his food. "Retire?"
"Well. I mean, you're not going to swim forever, right? Swimmers usually peak around the age of 21, so by the time you're in your thirties, you'll really have no career left. Unless you want to coach or something. But I can't see you doing that. So let's open a restaurant!" Kaori beamed as she sat up eagerly. "Oh! We'll be like that adorable old couple who runs the ramen shop by the middle school!"
Sousuke looked at Kaori's big eyes and chuckled. She had always had a wild imagination. He smiled and patted her head lightly. "Okay. Enough dreaming. We'll deal with a ramen shop when the time comes. For now, you need to keep studying. Your exam is coming up."
Kaori frowned. "I'm eating. I can't look at the book properly while the bento is in my hands."
"Here. I'll ask you questions."
Kaori raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure? Okay, fine, here. You can help me revise that chapter. The sample questions are at the back," she replied, handing him an exercise book. Sousuke put his food in his lap and opened the book with one hand, looking at the question bank.
"Okay. Let's see. Name three essentials of a legal contract," Sousuke read out.
Kaori rolled her eyes. "Simple. Offer, acceptance and consideration."
Sousuke frowned as he looked at the book. He couldn't quite understand it. "Consideration? What does that mean? As in, you have to consider what you're signing before you sign the contract?"
Kaori shook her head and poked her chopstick in his direction. "No, genius. It's not the thinking consideration. It means payment. It could be like money, or services or anything of value that will change hands for the purpose of the contract." She smiled when she noticed the blank look on Sousuke's face. As talented as her boyfriend was, he'd never been the best at academics.
Kaori took the last bite of her food, before setting it aside. "For example. You could offer to let me have the rest of your lunch and I could accept. But it wouldn't be a legal contract because there's no consideration. I'm not paying you anything in return."
Sousuke chuckled, handing her his bento. "All right. I will offer you my bento."
Kaori smiled. "I'll accept. Name your consideration."
"A kiss."
Kaori laughed and set the lunchbox aside. She saw the slightly pink tinge on Sousuke cheeks and nodded, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips. Sousuke returned the kiss, pulling her closer on the bed until she was almost in his lap. His large arms wrapped around her waist and Kaori could feel herself melting against him as he gently caressed her lips. Kaori gasped when one of her hands slipped down from his chest and landed clumsily in his lap. She had felt something hard there and she snatched her hand away quickly, shocked. "Gomen, I…"
Sousuke flushed. "U-uh, it's okay, I… I should be apologizing, I…"
Kaori bit her lip before kissing him again. She was extremely embarrassed that she and Sousuke were sitting alone in her room, on her bed and that he was turned on. But at the same time, she felt a sudden excitement. She gently pushed on his chest as she kissed him harder, causing Sousuke to lean backward. Kaori's legs went on either side of his body, and before either of them knew it, she was straddling him as he lay back on his elbows on her bed.
"K-kaori-" Sousuke mumbled, in between kisses. His hands were gripping her waist. "Wait. Stop."
Kaori gently pulled away from him, looking into his blue-green eyes. "Sorry. Do you not want to… I mean, I didn't…!" She was flushing red now, humiliated that she'd made such a bold move on Sousuke. He shook his head quickly and reached back behind him to extract a book that was underneath him.
Sousuke cleared his throat. "No... I just wanted to tell you that this book was digging into my back and it was kind of hurting." He noticed Kaori flushing and rubbed the back of his neck. "But now that we've stopped, I mean… did you really want to…?"
Kaori took a deep breath and looked at him. "Yes," she mumbled.
"Yes, what?" Sousuke asked. There was a hint of teasing in his tone.
"I want to have sex with you," Kaori whispered. She bit her lip and looked up at Sousuke, who had an unreadable emotion in his blue-green eyes. She suddenly felt ashamed and looked down at her hands. "You must think I'm such a pervert!"
Sousuke shook his head quickly, reaching out to grab her hand. "Don't be stupid. Of course I don't think that. But not here, on top of your examination books. You need to write your exam first. After that, if you still want to, then…"
Kaori looked up at him hopefully. "Then?"
Sousuke leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. "Then we'll do it properly. I'll take you to a hotel and we'll make it romantic, okay? But we'll talk about it after your exam."
Kaori looked up at him with flaming red cheeks. "Okay. S-sousuke, I love you."
Sousuke smiled. "Baka. I love you too. So much."
"Okay! Next question!"
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A/N – Thanks for your review, LilShorty0594! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Hope you guys liked this one. I might take a little while to update because the next week is kind of hectic for me. But I have it all planned out, so no worries!
