A/N: I hope you like long chapters because this one is the last chapter you'll see in this arc that's under 4400 words. :)
Also, Chapter 24 will be out on Monday because that's the 13th and therefore the third anniversary of my NaYuri shooting star wish(es). I kind of credit that meteor shower for the origins of Heartbreak Cure.
Enjoy!
[Chapter 23]: Vain Attempts
"Hey, did you have your walkie talkie turned off all weekend or something?" Yuri asked when she trotted up to their fork in the path on Monday morning.
Her hair swung from side to side in a light ponytail as she jogged to meet him, not a hairstyle he often saw on her. It took some of the bangs out of her eyes and made the curious glint in them that much more noticeable.
He eyed her nails before answering. They were red and kind of matched her hair, but more closely resembled Ami's favorite headband.
"Yeah, my dad heard a lot of static in my room on Friday night," he said truthfully. Yuri immediately nodded in understanding. "He started getting snoopy, so I turned it off to be safe." Then he gave her a look he carefully muted. "Besides, I figured you'd be hanging out with Kawata."
Her eyebrow lifted a little at his use of Ami's surname. "On the weekend? A couple of times, yeah. You know she is still friends with Kurimu and Hejjiguchi, and they do still want to hang out with her."
"Can't imagine why," said Ayato. Yuri threw a hand to her mouth to cover a giggle, and his demeanor softened a little. He missed that sound. "Anyways, you could've found me at the store. I worked a lot this weekend."
Yuri let a small grin creep over her face as they started a leisurely pace into town.
"Oh, I figured." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "The one time I actually hung out with the three of them? You'll love this. Kurimu said the only person missing here was you, and I told her that odds are you were working. So she suggested we drop by to pay you a visit."
"God, no," Ayato said in despair.
They both laughed, shaking their heads at the very thought. "Yeah, didn't think you'd like that too much," said Yuri. "I shut it down pretty quickly."
"I owe you my life."
"Not really, I just reminded them that your dad doesn't like loitering." She waved his thanks away dismissively. "For once, fear of Kimito turned out in your favor."
He pondered this as they passed a crosswalk. A validation that classmates were scared of him because of his father. Was that a plus?
…Yeah. In this case, sure, he'd take it.
But his annoying voice still took the opportunity to chime in, so she does only hang out with other people when you're not around. And she doesn't want you around when she's with other people.
Don't be stupid, he told himself. She was just being considerate.
The voice had gotten louder and more persistent over the weekend, so much so that Ayato was grateful for work on Saturday when people actually came into his store. Or when Kimito barked at him for some reason or another, interrupting absurd thought processes and conspiracy theories. At night it was a free-for-all, so coupled with waking up five minutes earlier than last term, sleep-wise he was running on fumes.
But it was fine, really. When his sleep deprivation was bad, it was evident. He'd know by Yuri's concerned glances every couple of minutes to scope out the bags under his eyes.
At least the fruits of his semi-sleepless labor was this: he resolved to stop making a castle out of a box. It was his problem stemming from his wild imagination. If here were any changes to their friendship it would be due to his negativity, and starting today he was going to snap out of it.
So he graciously endured a couple minutes of Ami talk. Apparently Friday had been Yuri's last trial run day of sitting in on the club, so that eliminated her excuse for still being at school when Ami got out. She revealed to him that Kurimu had secretly been waiting after school and watching Hejjiguchi run track so he could walk her home afterwards. Now, Yuri would have to let them know that she couldn't distract and detour Ami anymore to keep them from being seen.
"Why don't you just use the time to look for recruits?" he asked absently, closing his eyes and listening for the sounds he heard the other day. Not as loud, but still there.
Stupid, his inner voice interrupted. She could've gone back to walking home with you.
But Yuri cocked her head at him. "At school? Anyone still there probably already has another activity to go to."
Ayato shrugged. "Homework, detention, library?" Stupid!
Yuri looked thoughtful. "Good point. And that's right, I forgot about that. I could just be there for homework too."
"Stalker," he coughed. She laughed and elbowed him.
They made it into town, passing cafés and food stands. He was tempted to stop their trek to treat Yuri to a quick coffee or something. From the looks of things they were going to be early, and Kimito had paid him his wages this weekend so the money was burning a hole in his pocket. But he wasn't sure what she would think of that. Plus she was currently so deep into a conversation topic pertaining in no way to the troublesome trio (raving about a dream she had involving some girl slashing male students with scissors) that he wanted to keep the momentum going.
"—and I never remember the whole dream, which is really annoying, but a few interesting concepts stick."
"I have those," he sympathized. "Like bits and pieces of dialogue in a channel of static."
"Exactly!" She shook her head in dismay. "Something must've gotten lost in translation. Because, I mean, in my dream she'd been attacking a bunch of my guy friends, and she'd just gotten through telling me her evil plans to kill any man. And I basically told her, hey, you should join my warfront."
He instantly snorted. "Fraternizing with the enemy? That does sound like you."
Yuri's stride slowed, and her raised eyebrow could have cut concrete. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Nothing. You're the most loyal friend there is," Ayato said dryly. This time her elbow wasn't so playful. "Ow! Bruise!"
She blinked, as if he'd said a code word that washed the irritation from her face. "Sorry."
The air between them suddenly became about as comfortable as a date night between his parents, so he coughed a little and elected to change the subject.
"I think the more obvious interpretation is, you're thinking about recruiting so much it's leaked into your sleep." He gave her a careful look. "It doesn't even seem like an Ami thing. Why are you so into it?"
Or, he thought, recalling their Friday talk and the mention of gymnastics, are you not going to tell me about that too?
Yuri seemed to contemplate this for a second.
"It's not an Ami thing; I've told you I had to get people to join a team before," she said, with a slight drip of impatience in her voice. Then she softened again. "I've had a few dreams like that one where I'm trying to get new members for some kind of school club, so I guess that's why."
"You mentioned a warfront," he reminded her. That aspect had deeply amused him for some reason. Yuri with guns – he liked the mental picture.
"That's right." Yuri grinned, albeit vaguely. "Maybe I should be a military recruiter."
Ayato laughed. "So you do have future plans. That's good."
They approached the school gates, him still ribbing her about sending one half of their school to drama club and the other half to war, and then Yuri stopped and looked at the clock on her phone.
"We're actually kind of early today," she said, regarding the campus thoughtfully. "Maybe I can get someone before class. Students who actually hang out at school early are probably more interested in after-school activities than kids who are just trying to eat their lunch." She snapped her fingers. "Sound logic. It's brilliant!"
"Inspired," Ayato said coolly. He pointed toward a huge tree near the center of the campus, where a group of guys were scaling it and dangling from the branches like they seemed to do almost every morning. "Why don't you go ask one of them?"
A thoughtful hum from Yuri. "Good idea, they look like they have nothing better to do."
One guy throwing fruit at a particular branch finally knocked his yellow-haired friend out of the tree so that his legs were sticking up in the air like a headstand. Visibly impressed, Yuri took it as an opportunity and broke into a brisk trot. Then she looked over her shoulder, frowned, and headed back.
"What?" Ayato scoffed. "You chickened out?"
"Of course not." She took his wrist and pulled him along. "Don't just stand here, you're coming with me!"
"That's the last thing you want!" he complained, carefully twisting his hand to break free without giving himself whiplash.
Yuri barely looked back at him and his squirming efforts. "What are you talking about?"
"I told you I'm not going to do any recruiting—"
"You don't have to! Just come with me so I don't look like a lunatic!"
"Well—"
"Do yourself a favor and don't say it."
Ayato smiled at this enough to distractedly follow, even with a freed wrist. Two guys were still hanging out in the branches, while two others were pushing the yellow-haired guy's upturned legs back and forth. Presumably to see who would drop him first. Ayato had to hand it to them, the headstand guy was very patient and the others were easily amused.
"Hi guys," Yuri said cheerfully.
THUNK. In regards to that leg-tossing contest, Ayato would call it a tie. Bleach-head was still on the ground recovering from his topple, but even he managed to clear his throat and run a hand through his hair at the same time as his buddies.
"Hey, Nakamura," said one of the leg-tossers. He had black hair and rectangle glasses, and dipped them slightly in an obvious attempt to look cool. "Something we can help you with?"
They were giving Yuri more "bikini" stares than hallway stares, but Ayato still didn't like it. Nor did he like the way they'd briefly scoped him out. Like a bug they hoped would soon scuttle away. He managed to subtly nudge Yuri a few steps to the left, because he had a feeling the blondie would try to look up her skirt. How convenient – now his cleats were closer to the guy's head.
"Yeah, actually." Yuri put her hands on her hips, a real go-getter pose. "Any of you boys interested in joining the drama club?"
This resulted in a mutual, "Aaaaaaaagh….!"
Not the sound Yuri wanted to hear, as the boys went from slicking their hair back to clutching it in distress.
"Come on," she coaxed. "They put on plays. You'd probably get to kiss a cute girl."
"Are you one of them?" said the bespectacled boy. His partner-in-leg-tossing, a guy with shaggy grass green hair and piercings, nudged him with a look that begged to know if he was losing his mind. Quickly he sobered up. "Nope, still not worth it!"
"Yeah," said Lawn-hair. "Ami Kawata's in drama club. We're not working anywhere near that Type A time bomb."
Ayato broke into a broad smirk. Suddenly these guys were much more tolerable.
"Nezumi, she's not that bad," Yuri pressed on, to which Ayato scoffed. "Your brother is friends with her, after all."
"Lapse in judgement," Nezumi said with a shrug and a smile. Ayato bit his knuckle to keep from snickering, relishing even more in the weary look Yuri gave him. "You'd have better luck with Shiruba-kun up there. He's a nerd and he's madly in love with Ami."
A silver-haired boy yelped and fell backwards out of the tree. "I am not!"
"She's all we ever hear about," said Glasses.
"I said she was cute," Shiruba scrambled to his feet and held up a finger, "one time."
"Ten times," said Blondie from the ground.
"You're making that up."
"Alright, you were thinking it."
"Oh really? I didn't know you had telepathy."
"It's just that you leave your head so vulnerable," Nezumi said.
"I do not—"
Nezumi grabbed Shiruba in a headlock and mercilessly noogied his already messy hair as he struggled. The fifth guy hopped down from his branch, short of stature with golden brown hair and a wiser face.
"Guys," he said, with the tired voice of a mediator.
The boys obediently broke apart. Shiruba swiftly mussed Nezumi's hair in retaliation, but the latter was unaffected as his bangs fell back into place.
"Thank you, Hirohashi," Yuri said sweetly. The boy blushed and looked away. "Seriously, aren't you at least a little bit interested in the arts? Music, dance, comedy, girls fawning over how expressive you are… Fujimoto?" Glasses twisted his mouth, not entirely convinced. Yuri shifted her eyes downward. "Takada?"
Takada pushed himself up off the mulch and grass, and scratched his blond hair.
"Fujimoto and I were going to try out for basketball," he said, shrugging like he wasn't all that sorry. "I have a cousin who might be into it though. Great dancer, really enthusiastic—"
Yuri brightened, hands clasped as she bounced on her heels right into Takada's face. "Well, what class is he in? Where can I find him?!"
Laughing, Takada backed up a few steps. "America. He just transferred to study there."
"Man!" Yuri shrieked, clutching her temples as Nezumi and Fujimoto howled with laughter. "You're no help!"
She marched toward the school, Ayato following shortly after as he wasn't too interested in being left alone with that group. Faintly in the background he could hear Hirohashi offering a feeble "sorry" that got lost on the wind.
Yuri was still muttering under her breath when he caught up with her as she stomped up the steps.
"—boys are useless—"
"Hey!" Ayato said, frowning as he got ahead of her and opened the door first.
She didn't even thank him when she looked up, only paused before she walked inside. "'Hey' what? You know this is partly your fault."
"My fault!" He was aghast as he followed her in. "My fault that they have an idiotic sense of humor? You were obviously familiar with them, at least enough to know their names."
"Your fault for suggesting them!" Yuri complained. "I trusted your judgement!"
He let out an exasperated breath and raised his eyes heavenward.
"Trust your own judgment, I'm not a recruiter," he said sharply. "I'm going to class."
He heard a sharp intake or hitch of air behind him as he turned a corner and took a different route to his classroom. Offense, hurt, he didn't care. He ignored it and kept going. An attitude like that? He wasn't going to put up with it. If she was going to be petulant, he'd see her during lunch.
And see her he did.
"Okay, it's not your fault Takada is an idiot," Yuri said with a sigh, dropping onto the bench next to him. "You're not God. You didn't make him."
Ayato smiled. "Well…"
She gave him a soft look and a little "hmph," and the afternoon felt a little warmer.
"I just… I don't like my time wasted," she said, more to the world than to him. "There's always a lot less than you think, and… and it feels so wrong to be somewhere doing something so frivolous when you should've been somewhere else. When you should've been using your time wisely."
He could understand that. Though honestly… was the operation she was so fixated on now any less frivolous?
Perhaps it was subjective. Kimito saw college, and school in general, as a time-waster. If he knew for sure his son was spending time with a friend instead of rushing home, he'd denounce it as well.
Is she wasting her time with you?
He really hated that voice.
Think about it. If she's not getting what she wants out of a friendship… if it's dragging her down, won't she move onto the next one?
He narrowed his eyes. Bit noisily into a piece of tempura to drown it out. Offered Yuri a piece. She chased it with coffee and sat back against the tree, but her leg tapped restlessly and her gaze didn't stay in one place. She was people-watching, for sure.
After a couple of minutes, Ayato chuckled at her. "It always has to be now with you, doesn't it?" he said, uncapping a bottle of tea and taking a sip.
"I guess so," she hummed. "I don't like being in any sort of limbo."
She finished her lunch quicker than usual, so while he was still eating she spent her time squinting in contemplation while she regaled him with one of her between-class recruiting attempts. A dramatic-looking girl had been loudly proclaiming some sort of monologue in the middle of the hallway, but when Yuri suggested she join drama club, she said that "the stylings and theatrics of mere mortals mean little to me."
And then she had revealed she was in some sort of singing group. That alone had baffled Yuri. Still, hearing her belting another monologue on the roof from all the way down here was what set Yuri off.
"—so how does that make any sense?" she lamented. "Listen to her! If Ami was out here she'd be salivating!"
"Let it go," said Ayato, listening to the girl's emphatic proclamations of being a fallen angel. "I don't think she's acting."
"You—" Yuri glanced up at the roof. Inexplicably, the girl had procured a dark cape, and was now standing on the edge letting it flutter in the wind. "Oh…" She slapped a hand to her forehead. "The people at this school, I swear."
"Now you're getting it," he said, rolling his eyes.
But that didn't quite put an end to the subject. To Miss Fallen Angel, yes, but now Yuri was seeing her surroundings with fresher eyes. She didn't want another Angel or Takada. It turned into – Ayato, does that guy seem too much like a meathead? And – ugh, can't ask her, she's got stage fright written all over her. And…
He finished his lunch and closed the box, giving a tired scan of the campus. There had to be someone around here who seemed enthusiastic. Someone who might actually give a damn about theatre.
Not too far away from the doors, under the shade of the school roof, a girl was throwing away her lunch in the trash can. She had light brown hair in a ponytail and a cheerful, energetic gait. She turned and said something to another peppy girl with a bright smile. Her voice sounded like it could carry in an auditorium.
"What about her?" he suggested, pointing.
Yuri followed his finger with her eyes, and it took a millisecond for them to widen as if she'd been stung. With what, inspiration? Delight? Recognition? He hoped it was the first two, but she did know a lot of students around here. He quietly gave her a look, urging her on. The girl had briefly glanced in their direction after all. But that might've been because he hadn't been subtle with his pointing.
Her jaw set. She was visibly chewing on the inside of her lip, so it didn't look promising.
"I doubt it," she said after a thoughtful pause, her tone indifferent. "You've got to learn the difference between sporty and thespian."
Ayato squinted at her. "Just trying to help."
Honestly, after asking for his recruiting help? Talk about ungrateful.
And really… what was that look?
He didn't ask though. That little voice told him, don't bother.
A/N: Chapter 24 gets a little intense. Be prepared!
Preview:
"I'm trying not to leave you out here."
"I swear I did everything I could to avoid that."
"Ever had dreams where you're at another school?"
"He was my protector!"
"I'm going to have to tell Yuri…"
"He's pretty cool when you get to know him."
"It affected you."
"All you've done is gripe about everything!"
"You could have left well enough alone!"
[Chapter 24]: Other Friends.