The Onsen Encounter
Ch. 5
by Bottou-chan
"Kyoto isn't that far from Osaka," said Mikagami coldly. "Yanagi called me. She thought I should know. This was the last day for the seniors' trip; I just took a different train."
"You didn't tell us Mikagami was coming," said Domon, looking balefully at Yanagi.
"Err… he didn't say he was," apologized Yanagi. "I'm sorry if I did the wrong thing! It was just a little, ah, suspicious, ah, that both Neon and Raiha were here."
Fuuko, sitting grumpily off to one side, surveyed Yanagi skeptically. Since when did that girl have a suspicious bone in her body?
"I'm here to help watch over Yanagi," said Mikagami pointedly. "Who knows what they could be up to? Without your weapons, you're all useless."
"Yours got destroyed, too," said Recca irritably, holding Yanagi's hand.
"My training wasn't limited to street brawls, like some people here."
"Please, don't fight!" pleaded Yanagi, squeezing Recca's hand when it seemed that the one was about to go test his skills against those of the other. "Besides, it was just me being silly, I'm sure. Mikagami, please forgive me; I shouldn't have alarmed you. They haven't done anything suspicious at all."
"On the contrary," replied Mikagami, turning his attention to Fuuko. "It seems like they're busily at work infiltrating our group."
Recca, Domon, and Yanagi followed his gaze; Fuuko reddened beneath their collective stares.
"Making such a big deal over nothing!" she blustered.
"Flirting with the enemy *is* a cause for concern," he returned. "Don't think I didn't see you. And you looked awfully cozy together. For crying out loud, you were standing right in front of the doorway to outside. People looking in might not see you, but people behind you have no problems."
"Flirting?" cried Domon in anguish. "Fuuko, he gave up on you! 'Take care of her', he told me!"
"There was never anything between us to give up on!" exclaimed Fuuko, blushing even more fiercely. "Recca's still friends with Kuukai, and I mean, c'mon. We still keep in touch with Aoi. And we don't think anything at all of that. If we can keep in touch with killers and kidnappers, what's so suspicious about having a little conversation with someone as harmless as Raiha?"
"Pffft. He's as harmless as I am. What do you know about his ulterior motives?" Mikagami demanded.
"We were just--- talking---" said Fuuko.
"About?"
"About stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Just stuff-stuff. Like, um, our fight. And his loyalty to Kurei. And what he was up to, now that Kurei was gone."
Her four friends eyed her skeptically, and Fuuko had the uncomfortable sensation that she wouldn't be allowed out of their collective sight for a minute. How would she be able to get the closure she so desperately needed if she couldn't have a few minutes' privacy with Raiha?
* * *
"So, what did you guys talk about?" asked Joker, not bothering to turn his head as Raiha joined them on the front porch.
"Talk about?" asked Raiha innocently.
Neon poured him a cup of tea. "You and Fuuko. It was pretty obvious."
"Oh. Just stuff, you know."
"Get everything cleared up?"
"Not really."
"Didn't think so." Slight pause. "You didn't mention anything about *it* to her, did you?"
"I thought you thought better of me, Neon," said Raiha, his voice tinged with mock sadness. "You know me better than that."
Joker refilled his teacup. "People in love don't always make the smartest choices." His voice was a little gruffer than he'd meant.
"True," acknowledged Raiha. "But that's the question, isn't it?"