A/N: Hey AB section! Publishing this today because I have a thing for coinciding dates. Though I doubt I'll get to a certain important scene by February 9th (but that's quitter's talk). Thanks to ZainR and Cha0T1cPeace for the reviews!
ZainR: Gentler for him, that's for sure! Some teeny part of him is a father after all (or, at least Hayato's father). As for the little group, Naoi and Yuri already have a bond carved into their souls, but can they ever have the same connection with the Akuma kids? Time will tell... But the Shibuya thing! You're asking the real questions. :D Hinata and Yui appeared minutes after, but what if they saw each other fleetingly? There's a fanfic idea for ya.
Cha0T1cPeace: I know what you mean with the hectic holidays! Just glad you're still enjoying the ride :D That's exactly what Kimito is, the hibernating little beast... Ooh, but I think I have a wonderful idea of what wakes him. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) In the meantime, enjoy being lulled into a false sense of tranquility like Naoi - and more random AB cameos ahead!
Happy belated New Years, and enjoy!
[Chapter 35]: Talking in Code
In the middle of a half-full cafeteria, Ayato Naoi contentedly perused the pages of his latest Kamisama Suzuko volume while absently picking at his lunch. His classmates' mindless chatter coming from all around him provided an excellent white noise that he was only glad to make use of for the time being.
It was early January, so school was back in session. For Ayato, of course it could not have come soon enough and he was glad to be out from his father's watchful eye. But work and chores had gotten in his way last night and this morning while he was trying to complete volume four, and was it really too much to ask that he at least finish one more chapter?
He was almost done by lunchtime, and was committed to putting it down at the chapter break – even as tempting as it was to finish it all in one go. In his defense, Yuri had started talking to Ami as soon as she sat down, and the rest of the table seemed much more engrossed in discussing whether or not Shiruba was such a bad guy. From what he heard in bits and pieces, Masuda was the only one on the offensive.
"—but he poisoned Horigoshi," he said sternly. "His thoughtlessness could've ruined your play."
"It wasn't poison, Masuda," Yuri teased, and the amusement that seeped into her tone strongly implied he was more than earning his place in drama club. "It was just a little digestive distress."
"The way you say it so casually makes you sound sadistic…"
"And for obvious reasons, I don't hold it against him," Ami chimed in, ever-so-chipper. "Anyway, he wasn't trying to sabotage us. He honestly didn't know. Horigoshi said he never told him about the strawberry thing."
"Takamori is his friend too," offered Kurimu. "She told me he's actually really nice, and he was very embarrassed about the whole thing."
"Plus I asked Nezumi about it once during track, and he assured me—in his words, mind you—that Shiruba's just basically kind of a clueless dorky idiot," said Hejjiguchi. "Don't think he's ever been the type to do anything that sneaky."
Ayato smirked, but didn't correct him. He could easily use this as a way into the conversation, let them know what shady lengths Shiruba would go to for the girl he liked, but he was more interested in reading about the adventures of a young mortal god (or goddess) than he was in incriminating himself.
"Hmph," came Masuda's voice, muttering and distorted. "Trust Nezumi to stick up for his best friend…"
"Best friend? And he would say something so mean?" Kurimu asked, confused.
"It's a guy thing," Hejjiguchi assured her.
The conversation faded away as Ayato directed his attention back to more compelling matters. Much of this volume had been about romance, what with the whole out-of-the-blue pairing of the tengu and the shy girl, and then the god falling in love with her familiar and moping over the rejection. Now things were getting good again, with a dangerous quest back in time to fetch a dragon's eye in trade for his life.
About time, he thought privately, and turned the page. Even if she is a matchmaking god. There are far better things to do with her powers than just playing around with love.
He supposed he should've known what he was getting into when he became immersed in a shōjo manga with a female protagonist, but there was something irresistible about the premise. A young mortal being freed of a good-for-nothing father and earning the rights and title of godhood. Forsaking her old life and becoming someone important. Even her supernatural company, ridiculous as the characters may be, was a considerable improvement.
Although, she certainly was going to great lengths to save the person who dropped her off a building when she asked if he found her attractive. Not that he didn't like Tamaki's character. Her loyalty and foolish determination to protect him regardless shouldn't have surprised him anyway.
And yet… Ayato raised an eyebrow as she sacrificed the dragon's eye to heal Tamaki's then lover instead.
Maybe her desire to protect followed her in all paths, not merely for the sake of her own romantic endeavors. What was with that optimism, though? Another woman swallowed the key to saving Tamaki, and Suzuko was still sure they'd find another solution?
Such unfathomable confidence. Such purity. It almost reminded him of—
And then he found himself staring at empty hands as Yuri reached over, snatched the manga right out of his grip, and promptly began her onslaught of swatting at the top of his head. "THIS – IS NOT – A TEXTBOOK!"
Ayato cackled with laughter, deftly dodging her swipes while trying to smooth the muss out of his hair. Yuri's attacks never did any other real damage. Which certainly didn't speak to her full strength; despite his reassurances to her, he could tell she still only ever used up to 40% of it on him. The only thing even slightly paining him at the moment was the look of concern from the girl sitting diagonal from him.
"Is that also friendship-appropriate?" Kurimu whispered fretfully.
Hejjiguchi shrugged, leaning back to side-eye Ami in particular. "Can't be beating him any harder than they're beating that joke."
Both taking offense, Yuri abruptly stopped in mid-swing and Ayato joined her in a simultaneous glare down at the other end of the table. But then a shadow fell over them, followed by a familiar voice.
"Hey, careful!"
There was a swish of paper, and Yuri made a startled sound that turned to offense as she stared at her now empty hand still hanging in the air. Ayato snapped his head around to fix the thief with a scandalized scowl.
"This is a really good manga," Hisakawa insisted, sounding almost protective. She unfurled it from its weaponized state and started thumbing through the pages.
Yuri turned to look at her severely. "Never disarm me," she warned.
Ignoring her, Hisakawa continued to skim. Ayato scoffed at the ease and comfort in which she scoured his copy of the manga. Her flagrant disregard for their boundaries was simply astounding.
"We'll be needing that back," he hinted tersely.
She glanced up briefly in acknowledgement, flicking a downward glance at him, then crisply flipped towards the end of the volume.
"How far have you gotten?" she asked, satisfaction smoothing her features when she stopped on the page she wanted. "I like the stuff about the girl from the familiar's forgotten past. Fumiko's really elegant and mysterious." With that, she dropped the manga unceremoniously on the table. "Must be really sad for lovers to be parted for so long, through time and space."
Yuri snorted derisively, giving Ayato a pointed look before rolling her eyes. He couldn't relate to the look as well as she could, but he knew what it essentially translated to. Don't acknowledge, don't encourage.
Unfortunately, not everyone present got the message.
"Yeah, I like her too," Hejjiguchi said lazily. "But Suzuko's my favorite. She's got more courage, you know, and a stronger heart. More tenacious and stuff."
"You know, I'm pretty sure they're the same girl from different lifetimes," Hisakawa replied, looking doubtful but considering.
"Starting to look that way, isn't it?" Hejjiguchi agreed, innocently closing his eyes as he dried up his juice with a noisy slurp of his straw. "I've thought so too ever since they found the dragon eye inside her. But still, I think—"
"Hold that thought?" Ayato cut in, raising a finger for silence as he picked up his manga. He furled it slowly and calmly, then reached across the table and rained blows down on Hejjiguchi's vulnerable head, bellowing, "SPOILERS, YOU IDIOT! SPOILERS!"
Yuri and Ami laughed with pure unrepentant glee, a smile even creeping onto Masuda's face while Hejjiguchi tried to shield himself with his arms between squawks of protest.
"Ami bought me some volumes over break!" he yelped. "It's her fault! I couldn't stop myself!"
Hisakawa herself looked rather sheepish as she wandered out from behind their seats and into the open cafeteria aisle. She stopped at the edge of the table and lingered there, hitting Ayato with a mild case of déjà vu from that Monday two months ago. Did she already have an unofficial visiting spot?
"Sorry. I got a little carried away there," she admitted, a genuine note of apology in her tone as she ran a hand through her hair and pushed a lock of it behind her ear. "I just really like—"
"Yeah, yeah, waiting for the one, I'm sure you eat that shit up," Yuri said impatiently. "Did you want something?"
Across the table, Kurimu grew wide-eyed at her hostility and language and glanced worriedly from girl to girl. Hearing her small squeak, Hisakawa regarded her audience for a moment before briefly shooting Yuri an irritated glare.
"I was going to say 'supernatural stories,' but whatever," she corrected, keeping her voice cool. Then she turned her frown into a more casual grin, directed mostly at the troublesome trio. "And I was just wondering if you're all looking forward to the second year trip?"
At this, Yuri glowered even more, and Ayato understood why. The second year trip was a week from today, and second year students would be going up to Shiga Kogen to get a feel for the mountains. Of course Yuri wasn't looking forward to being hauled off to a world of chill and snow.
"Oh, yeah!" Ami perked up, possibly forgetting whose presence she was in. "I've researched the resort we're staying at! It looks so cozy and romantic…"
Masuda and Ayato made the exact same synchronus snort, earning an unfavorable lip curl from Ami.
"I've never gone skiing before, so I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun!" Kurimu cheered.
"Can't wait," Hejjiguchi said.
Amongst the rabble, Ayato turned back to his food in disinterest as the topic no longer pertained to him. "Probably not going."
This apparently caught Hisakawa off-guard. "Wait, why not?" she demanded, as if his answer offended her.
"Let me guess," said Ami, and she leaned forward to toss a look at Hejjiguchi before the two chorused in a singsong voice, "working!"
"His dad always makes him work," Kurimu explained to Hisakawa sadly, as if his life were a theatrical tragedy or a heartbreaking fairytale to share freely with any person who offered an ear. "He never lets him do anything fun."
Hisakawa beetled her forehead upon hearing this, dubiously disapproving. "That's stupid."
Ayato responded dryly, "I dare you to say that to his face."
"Aren't school trips compulsory?" Hisakawa asked, disregarding Yuri's amused snort. She folded her arms over her chest, giving a decisive nod. "They should be. They're really important for life experience."
He stared blankly at her, unimpressed. Again, I… He shook away the beginnings of the thought, not even bothering to dignify it with a completed mental response.
Annoyingly, Masuda discussed the school's policies with Hisakawa for a good thirty seconds before he finally caught a clue – or Ami's foot knocking against his shin. Third time was the charm; the frustrated "what" followed by an abashed "o" of realization made for an admittedly entertaining exchange. Ayato picked up his manga and buried his face with a huff, trying to restrain a chuckle.
"Well, anyway, hope to see you guys there," Hisakawa said, parting with a dismissive wave. Then she spared a glimpse over her shoulder, sending an eyebrow raise back at the group. "And I do mean all of you!"
Silence blanketed the group ten long seconds after she'd left. When they were sure she was gone, Yuri heaved a sigh, throwing her head back as she draped herself over her chair.
"Why does she keep coming to our table…?" she muttered, rubbing her temples as if the whole thing had given her a headache.
Hejjiguchi beamed boyishly, never a good sign. "Because she misses you!" he crowed, puckering his lips and making awful kissy noises at her.
Yuri's hand fell from her forehead and slapped the table. Moving quickly, she grabbed Kamisama Suzuko for the second time in the last five minutes, launched forward, and smacked Hejjiguchi square in the face. The impact made even Ayato's ears ring, while an offended Hejjiguchi nursed the redness on his face.
Damn. He knew she'd been holding back her true strength. Poor idiot.
"I think that's true, actually," Masuda said, regarding Yuri with a bold calmness and contemplative chin rub. "You sit with us these days, here and out in the open. Now she has an excuse."
"Don't tell her that!" Ami shrilled at him, upset. "She'll go hide away with Naoi again!"
Smirking as soon as he heard it, Ayato turned to Yuri and raised his eyebrows at her in a prompting fashion. Now didn't that sound like a win-win for at least two people involved?
Although… all things considered, the gesture was more of a joke than anything. Come to think of it, it would actually be a bit of a waste. Weeks of exposure had rendered him oddly finally used to this seating arrangement. Would he really want to go back and make it all for nothing?
On the other hand, he missed spending more alone time with Yuri. That concept did appeal to him.
Yuri just studied her lunch, missing his facetious look entirely in favor of a deep thought.
"I'm not going to hide away," she said firmly. With such sincerity that even Hejjiguchi lost his silly wounded grin, and Kurimu's eyes began to water while Masuda and Ami looked deeply touched.
The affected silence got to her. When she raised her head and saw that the mood of the table had sobered, she instantly flashed them a cheeky smile.
"What would we do without your shining faces every day? Ayato would be devastated!"
The group dissolved into laughter after that, himself included. At least they were good sports about it now; he'd give them that much. It was enough to break the tension that remained, and Ami even wisely elected to change the subject. Even if it was more babbling about the school trip.
"—and the lounge, oh, it's got this amazing open fire with cozy chairs and benches…" At first Ami was resting her chin in her hands, lost in a daydreaming state, but then she jolted with pure excitement and jostled Kurimu's arm. "And the hot springs! Ladies, we've got to try the hot springs! And did you know they offer horse-drawn sleigh rides around the resort? It would be so incredible…"
"So how much free time are we going to have during this trip anyway?" Hejjiguchi asked, scratching his head as his brain tried to keep up with Ami's joy. "Do we get to do our own thing or what?"
"They'll have an excursion planned for each day," Masuda told him matter-of-factly, and drew out a meditative pause to finish off his apple juice. "Otherwise, I expect we're supposed to be responsible for ourselves. Perhaps stick to the buddy system at the very least."
Ami lit up as if he'd spoken the magic words.
"Yep! The buddy system!" she echoed, and Ayato could see the hearts glowing in her eyes from all the way on his side of the table. A coy, encouraging smile widened on her lips. "It's the perfect chance for two prospective sweethearts to finally get the alone time they need."
Wait a minute, why was she looking at him when she said that?!
It took a split second of terror gripping at his chest before it occurred to him that he was sitting across from Hejjiguchi and in fact that was the more likely recipient of her lovey-dovey gaze. He had to be misjudging the angle. Still, he and Yuri shared an awkward glance. With Ami blatantly dreaming up romantic scenarios right in front of her secretly involved friends, he could tell by Yuri's pursed lips that it was getting harder for her to hide what she knew.
"I don't know about that," Hejjiguchi said, although he cast a fleeting glance and speedy twitch of a wink in Kurimu's direction. "But I've gotta get in some snowboarding time. Skiing with our class will be cool and all, but those mountains…" He gave a pleasant little shiver, rubbing his hands together. "Never gonna get a better opportunity than this!"
"You're such a boy," Ami sniffed. "You know, forget one-on-one time, you and Kurimu are so evasive sometimes! I mean, you're you," she said, and then poked Kurimu's arm, "and Kurimu, you sure do keep yourself busy. Entrance exams aren't until next year, silly! You don't have to study so much! Or you can't study with me, I'm not that loud."
Ayato kindly muffled a snort. Yuri elbowed him anyway (but he could swear he caught a smile).
Meanwhile, Kurimu blushed apologetically and clutched at her friend in a desperate half-hug. "I'm sorry, Ami!" she cried. "Let's hang out this week! Maybe a sleepover this weekend? And then we can help each other pack!"
Ami closed her eyes, vaguely appeased. "Alright, but don't think this means anyone here is getting out of group time while we're at Shiga Kogen."
"Except for Naoi," said Hejjiguchi, gesturing across the table at him. He made a face, then, scrunching his nose in a speculative squint. "So wait, would your dad really keep you from going on the trip with everyone?"
"Of course he would," Ayato snorted, his fingers already twitching for the safety of the manga. He wasn't interested in picking this topic back up again.
Hejjiguchi's frown deepened. "But it's for school, though – it's educational."
"Oh, please." He waved the comment away with a scoff. "The only reason he even keeps me in school is so he doesn't have 'idiot dropout' attached to the family name. Our agreement that I graduate high school doesn't involve letting them send me off to the mountains to play in the snow."
"But experience is our greatest teacher," Hejjiguchi said firmly. When Ayato and the girls gave him odd looks, he shrugged his defense. "What? Masuda and I have talks sometimes."
His alleged philosophy mentor pursed his lips to quiet a snicker as he gave Hejjiguchi a supportive thumbs up.
Ayato rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. I imagine he doesn't find skiing or snowboarding or sipping cocoa by the fire to be the type of experience I'll need in life."
Kurimu considered this for a moment, tapping her chin. "But isn't making a snowman sort of like doing pottery?" she asked brilliantly.
"I don't know, Kurimu, why don't we put one in the kiln and find out?"
She seemed surprised at first, and almost troubled as if currently picturing Frosty's horrible demise. Hejjiguchi frowned and looked her over with veiled protectiveness. But then the girl fell into a small giggle fit, relaxing her boyfriend's muscles as he allowed himself a few laughs of his own.
The corner of Ayato's mouth twitched into a half-grin. In all fairness, Hayato had said something similar a long time ago – that snow was just "cold, dusty clay." Maybe Hejjiguchi wasn't the only one philosophizing with Masuda these days.
Actually… Yuri had let him in on the loving couple's little secret, hadn't she? Maybe they knew he knew, and were wrangling the poor bastard into their plight as well. Hence the situation where one of them asked him to distract Ami for Christmas. Ayato's grin widened. As much as he respected Masuda, it would be hilarious if that were true. He hoped it was, if it meant they'd bother Masuda about it and he and Yuri could stay out of the rest of the relationship drama like they promised.
Ami's voice broke through his thoughts.
"Well then, I do hope you're wrong about your dad," she said, with an unearned confidence that made him eye her skeptically. She smiled as if to ease the tension, and nodded in his direction. "I think Yuri would be much happier if you came with us."
Beside him, Yuri frowned deeply and furrowed her eyebrows, possibly at the odd tone Ami had used just now. But more likely because she understood full well the situation with his dad, better than anyone else sitting here. She had better not be planning another operation in that devious little head of hers… It wasn't like she could just march into the shop again like she did last summer and wheedle Kimito into doing things her way. Need he remind her of the "crying wolf" story?
"You aren't going to pull anything, are you?" he asked, just to be sure.
Yuri blinked in shocked innocence, pointing at herself. "Who, me?"
"Yes, you. I know you."
"I'm not going to do anything," she told him plainly.
He could swear his radar was detecting traces of coyness somewhere in her words, but her eyes spoke unwavering matter-of-factness and honesty. Relieved, but to be truthful a little disappointed (he was far too used to her mischief by now), he settled back in his seat.
"Just making sure," he said, eyes still narrowed. And he resumed eating his lunch.
His radar went off again when he got back from throwing away his trash and found the huddled group peering up at him like a bunch of wide-eyed raccoons caught playing in the bin under flashlight.
But knowing them, it was more mindless gossip he didn't care for. The thought strangely put his mind at ease.
Yes. It was probably nothing.
The week trudged by slowly, as his classmates wrestled the liminal space that was simultaneously the first week back to school and the week before their big skiing trip. It was all the second year students seemed to talk about. Except, mercifully, Ami and Kurimu. If they were talking about it in class, they at least had the decency to pass notes. Ayato was almost impressed.
Still, it was everywhere. On Wednesday morning, as he and Yuri passed the dormant tree and all its former inhabitants on their way into the school, Nezumi had stopped his playful prodding and punching long enough to yell to them, "Hey Nakamura! Naoi! One of you ask Ami to save Shiruba a seat on the bus on Monday!"
"Shut up, idiot!" Shiruba yelled, trying frantically to smooth his silver hair.
"It's a three and a half hour bus ride and he wants to spend all of it with her," Fujimoto said lovingly, while he and Takada simultaneously threw a hand to their foreheads and pretended to swoon against each other.
"I didn't say that! All I asked was what our seating arrangement was going to be. You were the one who brought her up!"
"Did not," Nezumi coughed.
Shiruba shoved at him. "'Oooh, why, you wanna go sit with your lady love?' Maybe I do, at least she's less obnoxious!"
Nezumi clutched his heart in mock-agony. "You hurt me so much sometimes, you know that?"
"Oh, be serious."
"I am! But hey, go ahead, ditch us for your drama queen like you did on Christmas. It's fine. Fujimoto and Takada will sit together and Hirohashi will probably read a book and I'll just wither away from the loneliness of it all."
"Idiot, you're the drama queen…"
"King," Nezumi corrected proudly. "And don't you forget it!"
Ayato and Yuri had simply walked on, deciding to let that situation resolve itself. And yet Yuri did bring it up during lunch, asking who among their little group was going to sit with whom.
"There's six of us, so that should at least make it easier," Ami reasoned.
"Five," he reminded her, popping whatever pink bubble of mindlessness she floated in on.
Ami hesitated, looking surprised at his comment for a second before she nodded vehemently. "Oh, right. Five. Of course, silly me!" she agreed, breaking into a nervous giggle. "Then I guess… oh, no, I don't want anyone to sit alone."
Yuri grinned. "Shiruba can be the sixth," she said teasingly. "He said just this morning that he might like to sit with you."
"Aw. He's sweet," Ami said obliviously, very blithe about it despite Masuda's wary frown across from her. She played with the silver band of her mood ring, humming to herself. "Though I guess we'll just have to see how it all plays out on Monday morning."
"Agreed!" Hejjiguchi and Kurimu said, which Ayato found much too synchronized to be innocent. Shouldn't they be trying not to act like a couple?
Not my business, he thought, and let the matter drop.
Things were more normal at home. His terms of normal, mind you, but at least it meant less of the excited ski trip chatter. Just awkward silence in the workshop with Kimito, a few jabs and gruff orders here and there before the man went back to run the store. After tidying up the workshop, getting lunch, and doing homework, Ayato would follow for a couple hours of work and more cleaning and stocking shelves.
The store was mercifully but unsurprisingly quiet during that time. Or at least, devoid of overeager high school students.
He supposed his schedule would change next week, seeing as he would probably be home for a few days. Wasn't that right? Nobody had said anything to him about supplementary classes for students who weren't going. It would come as no surprise if Kimito had already gone to the school and clarified some things with the staff, or made specific arrangements like he did for the festival.
Four full extra days with the man. Four days, and Yuri would be over three hours away. Having fun in the mountains with her good friends whose parents believed in "learning from experience."
To hell with the mountains! Life was cold enough to him as it was.
Whatever. They could have their open fire in the lounge; he'd already resigned himself to keeping warm by the heat of the kiln.
But still, when the weekend rolled around and he'd already gotten his mourning out of the way on Friday (much to Yuri's insensitive amusement, although he'd thought he was being subtle), he needed to know what the abnormality of his week off had in store for him. So after closing up on Saturday evening, as he followed Kimito up the path towards the glow of their house, he broke the silence when the thought sprang to mind.
"Just so I know," Ayato mused, pulling his jacket tighter around him when the cold January wind picked up, "what's my schedule for next week?"
Kimito's pace slowed, dirt scuffing underneath his boots. His head turned only slightly, the smallest fraction of acknowledgement.
"What?" he grunted, as if the question was a stupid one. The scoff materialized in the night as a cold puff of air.
Ayato closed his eyes for a moment, internally wrestling his sass into calm submission. "My work schedule. Won't it be different for this upcoming week? I figured you'd adjust it to fit my week off, since—"
"What are you talking about?" Kimito demanded, turning more fully to scowl at him in distaste. "Your school has a trip to the mountains that week!"
"I know that," Ayato replied, trying to even his temper. "That's why—"
"You thought you had an extra week of vacation?" The man gave a rich snort. He whirled around and walked faster past the workshop in a disgruntled haste, motioning firmly for him to keep up. "Don't think I'm just going to pull you out of that!"
Ayato stared. He almost tripped over thin air, then caught himself and hurried to match the man's pace. "But I—"
"What, you don't like school when it makes you put forth some genuine physical effort?! You'd rather hide behind your parents than build some damn character? Tough!" Striding onto the engawa, Kimito threw open the front door with minimal effort. His jaw muscle tensing, he looked over his shoulder and gave Ayato a skeptical once-over.
"You better have a suitcase packed," he added coolly. "I'm not buying one for you."
With that, he disappeared into the house. Leaving the door wide open, Ayato standing in front of it with his mouth fallen slack.
What the fuck?!
A/N: Pardon his language, but seriously…. WHAT. Has Kimito lost his mind? Find out next time on an all new episode of The Potter's Son!
Preview:
"What did you do?"
"I thought it'd be more fun this way."
"Nice save."
"Will he ever love me as much as you do?"
"I'm not worth that much fuss."
"You've only made things worse for yourself!"
"No more games."
[Chapter 36]: Vacation (All I Ever Wanted).