A little bit late, but here it is! Please tell me what you think of this development! Currently, I have no plans for Niji-Yume interactions. Any particular scenes you want to see? I may need to brainstorm for that...
Pairings : Undecided
Warnings : Teikō Middle School Days.
Disclaimer : I own only the OCs.
Chapter 30 - Admission is the first step to recovery
Saturday was one of the days where people were most out on the streets and shopping districts to enjoy themselves. Meaning, wherever one go, crowds of people were likely waiting. It's hard to get to where one wanted to be, and it's easy to lose sight of one's company.
And in the middle of the crowds, stood a lone brunette who was just in thoughts. So what was the aim of this outing again? The reconciliation of her and him? Well, that didn't happen nicely now.
When usually Momoi was there to mediate the difference of interests between the two, she wasn't present at the moment. Her company gravitated towards anything basketball while she was looking at books on displays.
In the first place, what were two estranged teens supposed to do when they were left on their own? While thinking of this, Yume lost sight of Aomine in the crowds.
Yes, blame her inability to focus on more than one things at once. And worse, she didn't have a cellphone. Ah, the luxury she couldn't have.
Sighing, Yume separated herself from the overbearing crowds, knowing she wouldn't find her company in it nor would she feel comfortable to be in one any seconds longer.
On the quieter side, she still couldn't see the tanned teen. Where could he disappear to? She wanted to sigh again, only to hear a quiet sniffle next to her.
"H-Hiks..." a sniffle.
Yume was standing before a water fountain, a refreshing spot, and sitting on the ledge of it was a young girl, the same ribbon-adorned girl she saw earlier.
With her guilty conscience nagging her, she prepared herself for interaction. She leaned down to the girl's eye level so as not to surprise her too much. "Hello there. Are you okay? I don't see anyone around you so I'm wondering if you're lost..." she spoke softly.
The little girl slowly raised her head at the sound, her eyes moist with tears. She seemed hesitant to answer the question from a stranger, but as the brunette patiently waited with a soft smile, she replied in low whispers.
"Daddy... I lost Daddy when I was looking at the toys in the toy store's glass display... There're many people, and Daddy's not there." she confessed with little sniffles.
"I wait here so Daddy can see me. If in the crowd, Daddy can't see." she continued, her cheeks still flushed from the crying she had done.
Although her sentences were chopped, her reasons were sound, especially for a young girl. Yume smiled and patted her head gently, easing her sniffles. "You are very thoughtful." she praised.
"Have you been crying?" she tried despite already knowing the answer.
The little girl blushed slightly, looking embarrassed. "A little..." she muttered.
"There's nothing shameful about crying." Yume gently told her, a nostalgic smile on her lips. "I cried myself when I lost my mother before."
The young girl perked up at that, her eyes showing interests. "Really?" she questioned childishly.
"Mm." Yume nodded in confirmation, before appearing sheepish. "In fact, I also lost my company in the crowd..." she whispered shyly.
For young children to lose their parents were quite common, and they lacked the resources to find their parents. For teenagers like Yume however, getting lost was embarrassing and she should have a way to reunite with her company, which she didn't.
"My name is Manai Yume, what's yours?" she introduced herself, knowing that she needed at least a name to help the lost girl.
For the first time since she met her, the little girl smiled as she gave her name. "Miko-chan, Makimura Kumiko."
"I see, Miko-chan, eh?" Yume repeated with a nod. "Does Miko-chan want a drink? You need to hydrate yourself after crying."
While she wanted to accept it for her throat was dry, Miko-chan remembered that her parents told her not to accept anything from strangers. Also, it would be rude to trouble onee-chan more than she had.
"It's o'kay." she shook her head.
Yume picked up on her reluctance, and she knew what it stemmed from because when she was young, she was the same as Miko-chan. She often had to restrain herself because she didn't want to trouble anyone.
"You see, Miko-chan... If you need something, you have to ask. Or others wouldn't know." she gently ruffled her head, careful not to mess her ribbon. "It was good that you acted on her own and left the crowds, but did you ask for help?" she asked softly.
Miko-chan grew silent as she processed the words. "I... I was afraid they would ignore me... I don't know them."
Her lips quirked at this. "No one would ignore a cute little girl like Miko-chan. But she still had to ask." she advised.
"Mm." Miko-chan nodded and raised her gaze confidently with hope. "Can onee-chan help me find Daddy?" she asked.
At her request, Yume smiled and nodded. "Okay. But first we need to get you a drink. Onee-chan needs one herself." she offered her hand for the girl to take.
Soon, she got herself a bottle of pocari while getting a can of orange juice for the little girl. "Here, careful not to spill it." she reminded while handing the opened can over.
"Thank you, Onee-chan!" Miko-chan chirped happily, taking big gulps of juice to refresh herself.
Walking hand-in-hand with the nearby police office as the destination, the two girls took a steady pace while glancing left and right to see anyone they might recognise as their lost companies.
"O-Onee-chan! T-That's Daddy there! Daddy!" Miko-chan shouted in glee, tugging at the brunette's arm before sprinting away without even waiting for the older girl.
"W-Wait a minute, Miko-chan! You need to slow down!" Yume chased in alarm, it was harder for her to weave through the crowds than Miko-chan since the latter was smaller in size and more agile.
"Daddy! Miko-chan's here!" she shouted as she ran, swiping left and right to avoid people. But in her rush, she failed to notice the tiny pebble on the road, causing her to trip over it.
The next was a chain-reaction, the half-filled can of juice in her hand tumbled and tipped over, spilling the liquids all over the area, including soaking the shirt of nearby person.
"Wha–?! My shirt's ruined! This is a limited edition, you twerp!" the person whose shirt was soaked with orange juice yelped, upset. "What will you do about this?!" he raged, not caring the other party was only a little girl.
Thoughts about her Daddy forgotten, Miko-chan was helpless before the angry thugs, tears began to flow from her eyes in fear and she sobbed, not knowing what else she could have done.
"S-Sorry... I-I'm sorry..." she whimpered, scared stiff as she sat on the pavement, unable to move.
The one person she spilled her juice at was scary enough, but he had two friends with him just as intimidating, even an adult would cower, a child would have cried senseless, like what she was doing. Other people saw what happened and most sympathised with the little girl, but none moved forward to help for they also feared the men.
This was what Yume walked into, the shirking bystanders with fear written across their faces and a shouting man demanding payment for his shirt's cleaning fees from a weeping little girl.
She hated attention, especially when they were centred on her. But for the little girl she came to know, she risked going out of her comfort zone and towards the battle zone filled with dangers, mainly the angry thugs.
Slow but sure, she extended her hand towards the seated girl. "Miko-chan." she whispered to get her attention, and when the girl did look up, she gently pulled her up by her arm and softly pushed the surprised girl to her back.
"I'm sorry for the troubles she caused, she is with me." Yume apologised with a low bow, protecting the young girl with her back.
Apologies didn't appease the man, he frowned even more instead. "You should've watched her better, idiot! Letting little twerps running around causing troubles is irresponsible! Look at my shirt!" he yelled, emphasising his point by gesturing to his drenched shirt.
"I don't need your apologies, I want reimbursement for my shirt! This is a limited edition and I want the stains removed perfectly! That costs fortunes! You're going to pay for that!" he spoke harshly.
"¥10,000! Give me that and I'll call this done! Be thankful that I'm generous enough with the amount!" he named the price with a scowl, while his companions had lopsided grins on their faces.
The price he named was jaw-breaking, and while she can tell that the material of his limited edition shirt belonged to the upper-class section, it was still cheap enough to launder. At least it was back in her hometown, Kyoto. This is Tokyo.
For someone who worked for her living to reduce the burdens on her grandparents, the amount he casually mentioned was difficult for her to earn, and really, it equalled to her monthly allowance, her part-time works salary excluded.
Had it been solely her, she would have asked for a negotiation for the price, even going as far as showing him the nearby laundry place to minimise the fees demanded and smoothen the deal with a peace offering.
But not this time. Even with the hefty demand, she was willing to part with said amount if both Miko-chan and her were safe, so she agreed without further complains.
"I understand, please give me a moment." she nodded as she took out her wallet to pay, running her fingers through the ¥1000 bills.
Yume could feel the tightening grip on her skirt along with a low sniffle from the little girl who was undoubtedly feeling sorry for the situation she got them into. She wanted to comfort the girl, to tell her it's okay, but it's hard to do with her preoccupied condition.
"Miko-chan! Miko-chan, is that you?!" a frantic shout boomed, stealing everyone's attention as a man rushed towards the group, more specifically the little girl behind the brunette.
"Daddy!" the girl cried out, tears flowing from her eyes as she sprinted towards her father, engulfing him in a hug as the man crouched down to the ground.
The sight was touching and it honestly relieved her that the little girl found his father although her own companion was nowhere visible. For the thugs however, the appearance of an adult, the girl's father, was bothersome and the leader clicked his tongue before snatching her wallet without warning, intent to make a quick exit.
"My wallet!" she squeaked in surprise as the three men ran from the scene, tried to anyway.
A well-positioned leg tripped the one carrying her wallet, causing him to tumble down the ground and the wallet he was holding was now in the hand of the one who made him fall.
"Curse! You brat!" the thug glared angrily, about to make a lunge at the offender when one of the bystander brought along a nearby officer, pointing to where they were.
"Damn! We can't get caught!" he gritted his teeth in frustration before making a run for it, bursting into speed that they soon vanished from the area.
In the midst of the ruse, Yume quietly watched as her wallet-saviour walked up to her, stopping just one step away and lightly bonked her head as he dropped her wallet on her hands.
"Here. You should be more careful." he chided softly, a lazy frown on his face.
She smiled sheepishly, momentarily forgetting any awkwardness they might had before. "Thank you, Daiki-kun." she smiled at him appreciatively.
Aomine side-turned at this, pale red brushing his tanned cheeks. "You're too absent-minded sometimes." he noted.
Her attention however, was no longer on him as she mutely stared at the now reunited father-daughter pair and was happy for both of them. Although it reminded her of her own father, and that she missed him.
Girls were hard to understand when they weren't in his books, so whatever she was feeling was lost on him. But he did what he could by placing his large hand on her small head, awkwardly giving her a gentle pat, as if he was saying it's alright now.
It certainly wasn't as comforting as the father to his daughter, who stopped crying almost immediately when she was in his embrace, but she could tell he was trying and it warmed her little heart, compelling a tiny smile from her as well as light heat around her cheeks.
After the father had thanked everyone for their helps; her, her tanned friend, the bystander who called the officer and the officer himself, little Miko-chan stepped forward to her and she crouched down for her.
"Thank you for today, Onee-chan! Next time, I will ask for help when I need it!" she chirped jovially, her smile lighting up and the once tears-stricken expression was long fading.
As she smiled and waved the pair goodbye, the two teens stood side-by-side in a comfortable silence. And when they were no longer in sight, it turned into that of awkward silence. Neither was looking at each other nor speaking, and with the crowds having dispersed when the scene concluded, the only noises were people's chatters here and there.
"...Sorry, I guess." Aomine began, invoking a reaction from the brunette. "I... wasn't sure how to treat you after, uh... that..." he faltered, blushing as he recalled of that day.
He wasn't the only one, as she was as flustered if not more with her bright scarlet cheeks. For this reason, she refused to look at his eyes and favoured hiding her face by facing downwards instead.
Still, he continued. "Well, now I know, that at least, I can treat you like Satsuki."
His pink-haired childhood friend was unquestionably smarter than him, but she was also dense and defenseless which caused her fair shares of getting into troubles she had no idea of getting into.
"I'll do the same for you." he muttered softly as he reached for her head and ruffled her hair rather roughly this time, grinning as he did so.
"I'll watch out for you like a nii-sama supposed to do, so be a good little sister for me, Yume-chan." he said teasingly.
Needless to say, his confession had her stunned for a while, but his thoughtfulness and sincerity touched her and she smiled at that. She held his confident gaze this time, a smile stretching across her face.
"Okay. Please take care of me from now on, Daiki-onii-chan." she returned his teasing.
So yeah, how is it?
Reviews are very much appreciated!
Next time, the two's relationship is mended! How will the others react?
