Chapter fourteen.
Skirtchasing still isn't the answer, nitwit.
Masrur wasn't sure how to reply to this, he had expected for them to bond, but not for this to happen. ''Does that answer your 'so'?'' Sharrkan said, as he fell down onto the couch. Masrur nodded. ''Great, your usually silent self returned.'' Sharrkan grumbled. ''Sorry.'' Masrur said, and to be honest, he did feel sorry for Sharrkan. ''It's fine. You never talked that much anyway.'' Sharrkan replied.
''That's not what I meant.'' Masrur told him. ''Oh, right, that.'' Sharrkan replied. ''So, what are you going to do?'' Masrur asked, not sure if he really was the right person for Sharrkan to discuss this with. ''My hands are pretty tied, I can't do much about it. I promised him a relationship with Sin, and if I confess, I lose him as a friend. I see one solution, and that's to continue with all this, and just ignore my own feelings. They'll pass, eventually.'' Sharrkan sniffed, playing with his hands. It was the most mature thing to do, or so he figured.
Masrur decided not to meddle, he was already more involved than he had wanted to. But he could at least be a good friend, and support Sharrkan, though this was a bad idea. ''I know you have your tongue tied, but don't tell Ja'far about any of this, either.'' Sharrkan told him, Masrur nodded stiffly, after all, Ja'far didn't handle such things well, surely he'd be flustered, and maybe he'd clam up and hide himself.
''I don't get it at all. There are so many great people, that are good-looking and suitable for my taste. Why did I fall for him of all people?'' Sharrkan groaned. 'So that's why he started chasing girls. Fool.' Masrur thought, but decided against voicing that. Suddenly Sharrkan shrieked as he got up again, ''Hold on, did you say Alibaba was alone with Morgiana at my place?'' he demanded to know.
'That was hours ago...' Masrur thought as he nodded. ''Are you insane? What if that pervert makes a move on your little sister!'' he said, storming towards the door. 'He's your brother!' Masrur thought, as he followed. After all, Alibaba was an honorable person, and Morgiana would kick his ass if he did something to wrong her. He found Sharrkan, hastily putting on his coat, as he huffed, and said, ''I can't believe we neglected that. You should have mentioned it more clearly before!''
He yanked the door open, only to meet Ja'far's confused face, who had been ready to ring the bell. ''Sharrkan? I didn't know you were visiting today? How are you?'' Ja'far asked. Sharrkan only turned red, and each time he tried to say something, only the sound ''Ehrm.'' came out. ''Take it easy, those slaps from those girls must have messed you up.'' Ja'far offered, before looking at Masrur.
''My shift ended earlier then expected today. You mentioned Mor would be out today, so I figured we could go someplace and eat something. Nothing too fancy, of course.'' he said. ''Sounds good.'' Masrur told him, and for a second, Sharrkan felt envious. ''What do you think, Sharrkan? Want to come too, rather then eating alone?'' Ja'far offered. Masrur barely managed to stiffle his laughter, though one would think his face was just as stoic as usual. Admittedly, they looked good together, and they suited eachother, or so Masrur figured as Sharrkan nodded his head, trying to act cool. ''Where to?'' he asked, as Ja'far replied, ''Why don't we let Sharrkan pick some place. He and his brother had chosen something great the other day.''
Even though Sharrkan never had agreed to tag along, he still led them towards a Chinese restaurant, where there happened to be a table for them. ''Wow, this place sure is cozy.'' Ja'far said, as he looked around. ''I suppose so. Alibaba and I often came here when we were younger, with our parents.'' Sharrkan said. A silence grew between them, before Ja'far eventually said, ''Then this must be a very special place. Are you sure you want to eat here, not savour it for another, perhaps more eventful or special evening?''
Sharrkan gave him a fond smile, before he said, ''No. Today is no different from tomorrow, or any other day. Being with you two, being with my friends, is special enough.'' 'After all, it's better to be here with you as my friend, then losing you to some silly crush. Man, I wish I never had looked up from my book in the library, then this all wouldn't have happened, and I'd still be normal.' he added in his mind.
Just as Ja'far wanted to say something, their waiter arrived. ''Good evening, gentlemen, can I get you something to drink?'' he offered. ''Hey, weren't you from that other place? Did you get fired? Hakuoko, right?'' Sharrkan asked. ''Hakuryuu sir, and they didn't fire me, my family actually owns several chains of restaurants. I only help out.'' Hakuryuu told him with a smile.
''Then you must work very hard.'' Ja'far said, and the boy nodded. ''Does this place serve the same tea? It was really good last time.'' Ja'far said. ''We do have a new flavour, tangerine mixed with jasmine. Would you like to try that?'' Hakuryuu offered. ''Sure. Sounds good to me.'' Ja'far said, before Hakuryuu looked at Masrur, ''What would you like, sir?'' he asked. ''Water.'' Masrur breezed.
''Of course, sir!'' Hakuryuu squeaked with a high pitched voice, before anxiously looking over at Sharrkan. ''A coke would do just fine.'' he said. Hakuryuu nodded, before fleeing from the table, fetching that water as fast as possible. ''Like brother, like sister. She ordered water in the exact same way the last time, and she scared him as well.'' Sharrkan said. Masrur felt kinda bad for the kid, it was not as if he and Morgiana liked to scare people, they just got scared. ''That's not a nice thing to say. She was really nice, he's just that timid, and we weren't even there when she ordered water.'' Ja'far said. Masrur gave Sharrkan a blank stare. ''Alibaba told me, but okay, fine. She didn't gave him a heart attack, like you just did.'' Sharrkan said. Both Masrur and Ja'far didn't deign to reply to that.
Suddenly someone tapped Ja'far's shoulder. ''Do you mind if we join in?'' a familiar voice asked. He turned to see Hinahoho standing there, with his 'wife' Rumuru, who offered a small wave. ''Long time no see.'' she added, as Ja'far made place for her to sit down. ''I'll go ahead and ask the waiter if we can have more chairs, or perhaps a bigger table.'' Ja'far offered, before heading off searching for the waiter.
''So, how is the 'situation'? '' Hinahoho asked. Masrur decided to remain silent, as Sharrkan blushed. ''It sorta got out of hand.'' he managed to say. The blue-haired giants just stared confused, as Rumuru asked, ''What do you mean by that?'' Sharrkan took in a deep breath, as he said, ''The purpose was to get him with Sinbad, and whereas I still am trying to aim for that, I don't really want to lose Ja'far to Sinbad.'' ''Oh my.'' Rumuru gasped, as Hinahoho seemed confused. ''Eh?... I thought you two were dating already? Why lose him to Sinbad, if he is drawn to you?'' he asked. This time, Sharrkan stared flabberghasted at him. ''We aren't dating. So that is why you were implying that the whole time, I thought you were just joking, I'm supposed to be the stupid one.'' Sharrkan said. ''You still are.'' Rumuru and Hinahoho told him in chorus.
''Who is still what?'' Ja'far asked, as he had returned together with the waiter and some chairs for him and Hinahoho. ''No one is anything!'' Sharrkan exclaimed, and Hakuryuu seemed equally as confused as Ja'far, before he asked Hinahoho and Rumuru what they wanted to drink. ''Okay...'' Ja'far said awkwardly, before turning to Rumuru and Hinahoho. ''Are you guys out for a special event?'' he asked.
Rumuru nodded gleefully, as Hinahoho laid an arm over her shoulder, ''We are celebrating our second year anniversary. Of dating, of course, we'll have to start a re-count if we get married.'' Hinahoho said. ''Oh wow, I never knew that was a thing, celebrating your years together. That sounds amazing! Congratulations.'' Ja'far said, impressed. 'He literally knows nothing about dating. That's just too cute for words.' Sharrkan thought, before mentally slapping himself, he wasn't supposed to think such things.
''Why not tell us about it for a bit. Ja'far will learn a lot, before his anniversaries with Sinbad.'' he said instead. Rumuru gave him a sympathetic look, before saying, ''I don't see why not. They are just like regular dates, but then with a little special something.'' she said. ''I disagree with that. They are more special, cause it's something you do with your beloved only, not with some friend.'' Hinahoho said, and somehow, Sharrkan managed to hold back a wince. Rumuru gave her husband a kick underneath the table, making the giant yelp, ''Ouch!''
Ja'far furrowed his eyebrows, before saying, ''Something is going on, you're acting very strange. What secrets are you keeping from me?'' ''Nothing. Really, nothing. You're just being paranoid. Now be a good student and listen to their tales of anniversaries!'' Sharrkan said. Ja'far looked to Masrur, who just shrugged. ''Fine. I'll figure it out eventually.'' he said, before listening to Hinahoho who began to tell about their first year.
'Believe me, you're better off not knowing this.' Sharrkan said in his mind, as he listened in. Somehow, someway, his mind drifted off to what he would do if he had such a celebration as the giant couple. He couldn't help but stare at Ja'far as he did so. 'I'd probably take him to the beach for a stroll, just walking to nowhere in particular, making it seem like we do though, if only to tease him. Eventually, we'd go out for dinner, whatever would suit his taste. And maybe, even a movie. We'd end the evening just looking back at what we did, and remember the feeling we have by being together, and how happy that makes us feel. Maybe we'd end up snuggling, nah, likely.' A smile was plastered on his face, as he continued fantasizing about the small details.
''And that was our first anniversary. We had decided to repeat a few things, but doing big events is a hassle.'' Rumuru told Ja'far, as she remembered the day they visited a busy carnival, when she only had wanted some time alone with Hinahoho. ''I can imagine. So, what did you do this year? Because, you look more content, and it sounds like you were more frustrated last year.'' Ja'far said.
''You're very perceptive.'' Rumuru said, as Hinahoho wondered if she had minded the carnival that much. ''We started with a nice breakfast, after all, my husband makes the best pancakes. Then we played some ball, and after that, we went swimming. Later, we ended up just walking, and now we're at this restaurant.'' then she whispered, ''Though I suspect my man is still up to something. Usually, we swap gifts, and he hasn't brought it up yet.'' The grin on Hinahoho's face was enough evidence that she was right.
''That sounds nice, but the carnival wasn't that bad either. I can imagine Hinahoho being very proud of you two, and the spot to show most people, was right there. And, you're bound to have fun there.'' Ja'far said. ''How about cotton candy in your hair, and your husband barely fitting into a cart, which is kinda fun.'' Rumuru added, as they gave Hinahoho a look. ''You two are getting along a bit too well, if you ask me.'' he said, teasing. ''Did Sharrkan ever spend a first year?'' he asked, making the guy in question look up, and turn red. ''Don't bother, he doesn't even talk about his first kiss.'' Ja'far said. Hinahoho looked up, as he asked, ''What do you mean, first kiss? I thought he'd nev- OUCH!'' Rumuru kicked him again, as she said, ''Don't mind that.''
Even Masrur figured things were getting awkward by now, but luckily the waiter arrived with their drinks. ''Ready to order?'' he asked, after he had served the beverages. ''Fish.'' Masrur said, as he pointed to a number on the menu. ''A-ah, l-lovely choice, S-sir.'' Hakuryuu stuttered nervously, before looking over at the giants. ''And you miss?'' he asked. ''I'd like the shrimp pasta. I think my husband is interested in the biggest steak you can serve, right?'' she asked as she looked over to Hinahoho, who nodded cheerfully.
Hakuryuu's eyes nearly popped out, were these two really married already, that early? He jotted it down, before looking over at the other two. ''I'd like the fish too.'' they both said at the same time, before looking at each other. ''Ah, sorry.'' Ja'far said, as Sharrkan shook his head, ''Nah, I should have waited.'' Hakuryuu noted it, as he took their menu's. ''Coming right up.'' he said, before heading back towards the kitchen.
''Such a hard worker, we should leave a good tip.'' Sharrkan said, and Ja'far nodded, glad that Sharrkan changed the awkward atmosphere that easily. But, as the idiot he was, Sharrkan changed it back just as easily, when he asked, ''Did you pay a lot of attention to their anniversary tales? How do you envision yours?'' He neglected to mention Sinbad, maybe on purpose, maybe not. ''How I envision mine? Isn't that thinking a bit too far ahead?'' Ja'far replied.
''Why not? You are allowed to fantasize, and you intend to make you and Sinbad work, right?'' Sharrkan asked casually. ''I do. I care a lot for him, and I want it to work.'' Ja'far said, wondering if this was a test, to see if his feelings were real. ''Oh...'' Sharrkan muttered, feeling kind of bad, he didn't want to provoke Ja'far at all. ''Knowing Sin, he would do something like going to the carnival. Or maybe to some basketball court, and in the end, going to a bar, drinking something. I think that's a decent first year.'' Ja'far said.
''That's something Sinbad would do. What would you do? In a relationship, there is more than one person, and the other doesn't necessarily have to do what the other suggests. You're able to put this on the table, and discuss it. Am I right?'' he asked Hinahoho, who nodded firmly. In his mind, Sharrkan added, 'You'd hate celebrating it like that.' ''I suppose I'd like to go out in the evening, eat somewhere, not too big, not too fancy. During the day, maybe some gaming, like Call of Duty, or hang out at an arcade. And at night, I'd like to read, or maybe relax with a movie. I also kinda like the beach, so taking a stroll is an option too, I suppose.'' Ja'far said, listing what he would do.
'Wow, creepy! That's... what I would do.' Sharrkan thought, as he said, ''That sounds more like you. Somewhere between those extremes, you should compromise, and then you have the ideal first anniversary, followed by more.'' Sharrkan lectured. ''Wow, Sharrkan, somehow you managed to sound smart.'' Hinahoho said in surprise. ''Believe me, there is more to Sharrkan then one would think.'' Ja'far said, and Sharrkan nodded sagely. Ja'far then proceeded to take a sip from his tea.
''This is really good.'' he said, surprised, the flavours really worked well together. Rumuru smiled, as Sharrkan said, ''Typically you, to get excited over tea.'' Ja'far looked at him, as he said, ''You can't judge, without having a taste. Here take a sip.'' he held up the cup for Sharrkan who instantly blushed. 'That's like sharing a kiss!' he mentally added, but Ja'far seemed pretty serious. With a really red face, he took a sip, as he said, ''It's good.'' Rumuru giggled, as Ja'far seemed very content.
Their meals arrived pretty soon, and the rest of the evening was filled with laughter, jokes and conversation. At the end of the evening, they said their goodbye's to Rumuru and Hinahoho as Ja'far paid for the meal, giving a decent tip for Hakuryuu. As they headed back towards home, Sharrkan couldn't help but ask, ''When are you moving back into your house? Not that I miss you as neighbour, or Masrur minds, I think. But, it's your home.'' ''I have been thinking about that too, I've decided to call someone to look at the damage, and see if it's safe to fix. Masrur already offered to help when the time is there.'' Ja'far said.
''Ah, good.'' Sharrkan said. Masrur rolled his eyes, they were so ridiculously obvious, and Sharrkan was embarrasing himself. He fished his keys out of his pocket, before he handed them to Ja'far. ''I'm going to pick up Mor. You can go and head in already.'' he said. ''Do you want me to come along?'' Ja'far asked, but Masrur replied, ''Nah, Mor and I need to have a little family talk, you go on ahead, maybe have a bath.'' Ja'far nodded, he enjoyed those a lot. ''See you and Morgiana later then. Sharrkan, until tomorrow. I hope your crisis is over.'' Ja'far said, before he headed towards Masrur's home.
''I'm not an idiot, you know. I know you want to talk, and that's why you have sent him home.'' Sharrkan said, as soon as Ja'far was out of hearing. ''You're right, though he does like bathing.'' Masrur said. ''You're strange.'' Sharrkan retorted. ''That may be so, but you're smitten. He'll realise it eventually, you know.'' Masrur said. ''May I remind you that he's ridiculously smitten with Sinbad. He won't notice one bit, and once he and Sinbad get together, I'll be able to forget all of this, and move on.'' Sharrkan said, slightly irritated.
''That's no good. You and he are good together. Why not attempt and talk about it? He may like you too.'' Masrur said. ''Heh, as if. Nice try at convincing me, though. But face it, he's meant to be with Sinbad. Admittedly, Sinja sounds good too.'' Sharrkan said. ''Sinja?'' Masrur asked, 'Was that even a word?' ''It's their names mashed together. Sin, as in Sinbad, and ja, as in Ja'far. Sinja.'' Sharrkan explained. Masrur twitched a few times, decided not to kill, before he breathed in, and said, ''Then, why does Jasha sound any worse?''
Sharrkan didn't bother to reply as he knocked on the door to his place, which Morgiana answered. ''Hello, welcome back.'' she said. ''Yeah, yeah, it has been nice having you over. Here is your sister back, please go meddle in someone else's high school drama.'' Sharrkan said, as he pulled Morgiana out of the door and shoved her towards Masrur, headed in, and slammed the door shut. Morgiana looked over at Masrur, as she asked, ''What was that about?'' Masrur only shrugged, before they walked home in a comfortable silence.
''Good evening, nii-san, welcome back. I heard you had a fancy dinner, we ordered pizza. So, how were things with Masrur, and Ja'faaaar!'' he sing-sang the last part. ''Fine. Hinahoho and his girlfriend joined in too.'' Sharrkan said, ignoring the real question. ''I thought she was his wife?'' Alibaba asked. ''It's... complicated.'' Sharrkan told him. ''Just like Ja'far and you, right? Lá amour is much easier when you comply with it, and try not to understand it, but understand each other.'' Alibaba said. ''Le who what where now? Even if I do like him, it doesn't matter.'' Sharrkan said. ''Maybe your chances are better than you think.., you shouldn't give up that easily.'' Alibaba simply said, before heading to bed.
The next day, Alibaba noticed that Sharrkan had taken his advice quite literally, as he chased more girls in an even more fancy suit at school. "I'm not related to him, I'm not related to him.'' he repeated to himself, like a mantra. ''At it again, huh?'' Sinbad asked, as he, Ja'far, Masrur and Judal stared at the scene. ''A mid-life crisis takes time. We can hope he'll get over it by the time camp is there.'' Judal said. ''I don't think so.'' Masrur said. ''This seems to be something he won't get over that easily.'' Sinbad added, before walking to class.
Eventually, Sharrkan's phase passed, or maybe he had just grown tired of being rejected and smacked. By the time the weekend had passed he walked towards the meeting point with a heavy heart. He dreaded spending the upcoming week with Ja'far and Sinbad in one room. Also Judal, and that schmuck Yunan, but he didn't care as much about that. ''Come on, nii-san, cheer up! Camp is supposed to be about relaxing, and fun. Pillow fights, getting to discover things.'' Alibaba told him, as he dragged Sharrkan's luggage, mainly because Sharrkan was currently airheaded enough to lose it.
''Fun. Yay.'' Sharrkan sarcastically cheered. ''Oh nii-san, you're so pessimistic these days.'' Alibaba told him. ''I know, I'm a drag, ectera, ectera. Get in line, you're not the first one complaining.'' Sharrkan told him. 'Good luck, Ja'far.' Alibaba said in his mind. ''Will you text me every day? I have never been alone for such a long time yet.'' he said. ''Oh, as if I don't know you're going to invite Morgiana, and Aladdin over. I'm not born yesterday, you know.'' Sharrkan said.
Alibaba blushed as he said, ''As if. Alone time, woohoo. Maybe I'll beat your score in Dead or Alive.'' ''Yeah, right kiddo. Keep on dreaming.'' Sharrkan said, before he spotted the others. ''Behave yourself.'' he said, as he patted Alibaba's head, took the luggage, and headed towards the group, where Masrur waved Morgiana goodbye, before she went over to talk with Alibaba.
''Good morning.'' Sharrkan said, as the others greeted him. ''Morning Sharrkan. Have you slept well?'' Ja'far asked, and got a nod in reply. For some reason, the girls stayed far away from them. ''Good. I kinda look forward to camp. It's my first time, so I really don't know what to expect.'' Ja'far said. ''Wait, you've never been on a camp?'' both Sharrkan and Sinbad exclaimed. ''What's wrong with that?'' Judal asked, as he added, ''I never been on a camp before either. It isn't that strange.''
''Oh my god, you two are too precious.'' Sinbad said with stars in his eyes. ''Idiot.'' Ja'far and Judal said simultaniously. ''Camp isn't that big of a deal.'' Sharrkan shrugged. ''Not that big a... Not that big a deal?!'' Sinbad shrieked dramatically, before taking a heroic stance. ''Camp is amazing. Camp is like my kingdom as Sindria high is, but then instead of being controlled by bothersome teachers, we are free to roam, and do such things as planning a strategic game of pillowfighting, or even better, a full-out food war. And we're free to explore, as we engage-'' Pisti slapped him up the head, somehow, making him yelp.
''A typical speech as could be expected from the so-called school king. This camp still has rules. Here we have something that you'll treat as if your life depends on it. It's called a guidebook. Read it, and learn it's rules. Any disobeyment will result in punishment.'' she said, as some of the other teachers handed them out. ''You just got your ass served by a teacher that can barely reach our knees.'' Sharrkan said, before he received a smack as well. Then she handed them the guides.
''Do they always hand guides on such short notice?'' Ja'far asked. ''Yup. They assume we will read it fast, during the bus ride, or at camp when we arrive.'' Sinbad told him. ''Ah, sounds reasonable.'' Ja'far said. Judal just snorted. ''Ja'far, do you want to sit next to me during the busride? We can discuss the guide together, and if we take the big seat, we can even share with Judal. Then I can tell you both about camp.'' Sinbad offered.
''Actually, you can take a regular seat. I was thinking about sitting next to Judal, seeing we are going to share a room. Get to know eachother a little.'' Sharrkan said. ''Why would I want to sit next to you?'' Judal scoffed. ''Because we're roomies.'' Sharrkan offered. Judal rolled his eyes. ''If you insist. But I prefer it when you shut up, letting me read in peace.'' Judal told him.
Sharrkan nodded, as he spotted Sinbad and Ja'far talking excitedly. That look on Ja'far's face was worth his sacrifice. Soon enough, they were able to take their seats, and they were on their way towards Kyoto. Sinbad and Ja'far were reading the guide book together. For some reason, Judal had abandoned him to sit next to Kouha. Not that Sharrkan minded, he prefered Masrur's company better anyway. ''That was nice of you.'' Masrur said. ''Of course it was. I'm kind, and I'm a good coach.'' Sharrkan said, before opening his guide book. ''Let's see what this is all about.'' he added, before reading the guide that was bigger then an average Harry Potter volume. By the time he reached the halfpoint of the book, they arrived in Kyoto at their destination, the Balbadd inn!