Chapter One - We Should Have Called
"How long could they possibly be?" Rowen complained as he leaned on the wheel of the red jeep he had borrowed from Mia.
Sage smiled as he styled his hair in the pulled-down mirror behind the visor. "They'll be out in a little bit, Rowen. Give them some time. It has been almost a year since they've seen each other. Kento is probably begging him for some of his homemade chocolate chip cookies."
Rowen rolled his eyes at the mental picture of Kento down on his knees, hands folded, forcing tears out of his eyes just for a few cookies. "See? Here they come now," Sage said, interrupting the image. Behind them was Kento's Uncle Chin, waving good-bye with what looked like a packet of papers in his hand. Sai obviously had given him a few recipes.
Kento and Sai mounted the backseat of the jeep. Kento had a wide smile on his face. "Hey, guys, good to see you again!" he cheered.
"You would have seen them a lot sooner if you hadn't been bugging me for recipes all that time!" Sai stated irritably.
Sage gave a look to Rowen that seemed to say "I told you so". Rowen chuckled a little as he started the engine. "Same old Kento. How we've missed your bottomless pit of a stomach," Sage added.
"Really?" Kento asked in a small, hopeful, almost childish voice.
"No, not really," Rowen said, trying to hold in his laughs. Sai bit his knuckle, also trying to keep from laughing as he saw Kento's face drop in disappointment.
"Well, that's four down and one to go!" Sage proclaimed proudly as they started up the street.
"Man, I can't wait to see Ryo. He's probably going off the walls up in that cabin!" Kento said, nudging Sai with his elbow.
Sai pushed it away and continued to look out the window. "Ryo can handle being by himself. I'm sure he's fine," Sai replied in his quiet British accent. Nothing more was said for a while as they began to go up the steep winding mountain path to Ryo's place.
In the midst of the silence, Kento blurted out, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees us! He probably isn't even out of bed yet!" The others in the jeep gave him a confused look. Rowen peered at him in the rear view mirror and Sage turned his head slightly. Kento fell into a bashful quiet as he saw the eyes piercing into him.
"Why would he be surprised, Kento?" Sage finally broke the silence. "You did call him and tell him we were coming, didn't you?"
Kento looked for a physical exit from this interrogation, quivering his eyes frantically. "Well, why didn't any of you call him instead?!" he argued, trying to remove the blame from his shoulders.
The three of them grunted, sighed, or moaned as they slumped in their seats. "Kento! You were supposed to call him up! I called Sage, Sage called Sai, Sai called you, and you were supposed to call Ryo!" Rowen explained tiredly.
"All right, already! I'm sorry! Jeez, no big deal!" he shouted.
"It is a big deal, Kento! You know Ryo was the most upset about all of us leaving! He most of all deserves to know we're all getting back together today!" Sai protested.
"Would you guys lay off me already! It's not like Ryo has anything else to do up in that big mountain of his! Besides, more the surprise when he opens the doors and finds us there!" Kento said, trying to grace his position. The others groaned a little, knowing he was escaping their disappointment in him. Even so, they could not help but smile imagining the look on Ryo's face when they'd arrive. Kento smiled in triumph.
The red jeep pulled up to the driveway of the log cabin atop the mountain and by the beautiful lake. They piled out of the car and admired the view as they had done before when visiting Ryo. "Now I know how Ryo passes the time up here," Sage said, admiring the view.
"Well, shall we wake up Sleeping Beauty?" Kento said, clasping his hands together, rubbing as if preparing for some large handiwork. They all smiled lightly and came up to the door. Sai knocked lightly first and stood back. The four boys still smiled in anticipation to see Ryo's face but there was no answer.
Sai knocked again and, after more waiting, there was still no response. "Oh, he has to be home! Kento, this is all your fault!" Sai said atypically.
"What?! My fault?! He's home! You're just not knocking loud enough!" Kento growled.
Rowen just butted in with, "Why don't we just call his name so he knows it's us?"
Kento's face scrunched. "And ruin the surprise? No way!" he said as he went up to the door and delivered four heavy blows to it.
"All right, all right, I'm coming!" was heard from the inside. They beamed in relief and satisfaction as Ryo could be heard unlocking the door. The door slowly opened.
Obviously they had gotten Ryo out of bed. All he was wearing was a pair of blue pajama pants and his robe thrown on, untied. His hair was tousled more than the usual for him and, when he looked up at his friends, his face was in complete shock.
"Surprise!" the four said in unison. Ryo's surprise didn't leave his face.
"Hey, buddy, aren't you glad to see us?!" Kento said with a big grin.
"We didn't mean to wake you up. Kento was supposed to call you," Sai interjected.
Ryo snapped out of his surprised daze and tried to address his friends. "Oh, I, uh... it's no big deal," Ryo said, leaning little out the door with one hand on the frame and the other holding open the door. There was a long moment of silence, and smiles were disappearing.
"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Rowen said pleadingly.
Ryo snapped again as if in deep thought. "Oh! I would but, uh... the place is a mess," Ryo offered.
"We had to pick up Kento, it couldn't be any worse than that!" Sai smiled.
Ryo seemingly was struggling for another excuse when a female voice came from around the corner. "Ryo, who was at the... door." A young girl no older than Ryo walked from behind the corner to see four boys trying to force their way in. She had beautiful long blonde hair down past her waist and was tying it back with a red bow as she walked in. She was wearing one of Ryo's long red sweaters that came down to just above her knees, but wasn't wearing much else.
Ryo was rubbing the front of his forehead around his eyebrows with his thumb and pointer finger and was blushing madly as his four friends stared slack-jawed at the gorgeous, underdressed young girl standing at the corner of the room. She knew this was not the right time to come out. Ryo looked back and seemingly ushered her forward to the door. Ryo was a good four or five inches taller as she came closer. He put his arm around her and blushed a little more as he tried to address this awkward situation.
"Uh, guys, this is my friend Mina. Mina, this is Sage, Sai, Kento, and Rowen," Ryo managed to stutter out.
She sheepishly waved to the four staring on at this scene, finally able to close their hanging jaws. "I think I just found out another way Ryo passes the time up here..." Sage whispered lightly.
"We should, uh... come back later..." Rowen finally managed to throw out, yet no one said anything more after that.
In a sudden outburst Kento screamed, "Ryo, you are the man!" He was met with multiple smacks in the back of the head as the others scolded his name. Mina giggled lightly and Ryo chuckled, but they still continued to blush heavily. Sinking deeper in their mistake of not calling Ryo, they let out distracting and throat-clearing coughs, trying to look away from the two at the door.
Sage finally broke in. "We're, um, all going to be at Mia's today and we'd like you to join us. Oh, and of course, Mina is invited too."
Mina smiled again as if thanking Sage as she turned her sparkling baby blue eyes towards Ryo. He was rubbing the back of his head with his other hand, eyes averted to the ground. "Yeah, I'll call you guys when I'm ready. We'll ride White Blaze there, he wants the exercise," Ryo said, looking nervously over his shoulder at his faithful tiger companion who almost seemed to smile at his name. They nodded to Ryo's plan, but it really wouldn't matter what he would have said, for all six of them just wanted to get away from this situation as fast as possible.
Ryo led Mina back into the cabin and shut the door quietly behind him. He still had one hand on the handle and the other seemingly held against the door as if keeping back strong winds. He pounded the back of his head against the door and shut his eyes tightly. "Oh, the guys are going to kill me for this!" he said, almost whining. Mina hugged him around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He could feel she was laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing, I just thought you wouldn't hesitate to brag to all your friends about how you 'scored' with me."
Ryo shook his head a little. "Now, I have much more respect for you than that," he said as he kissed the top of her head.
She looked up at him and seemingly had a disappointed face, but Ryo knew she was pretending. "You mean you weren't going to tell anyone about me?" she said in a sad, played voice.
Ryo just looked down and said, "You're so cute when you pout."
They both chuckled a little. Then Mina turned her head back to the side and Ryo again looked at the ceiling. "Mia is going to give me the lecture of my life once I get there," he said with a sigh.
"Oh, let her complain. She had her chance. You're mine now, and you'll do what I tell you!" A laugh escaped Ryo's mouth but the rest were muffled behind his lips. Mina also was keeping her giggles muffled inside.
Outside the doors to the jeep were open, but no one was getting in. They were all just staring at each other, trying to piece together the situation. Many words were exchanged but no actual conversation.
"Wow. Ryo. Who would have thought?"
"Maybe we saw it wrong?"
"No way! That was clear as the sun!"
"Who is that girl?"
"Why Ryo?"
"She sure was pretty."
"I'm hungry."
"Are we missing something?"
"Is she an old girlfriend?"
"That must have been embarrassing."
"Mia is going to kill him!"
"Mia!" they all said at once. The situation had taken an odd turn.
"Should we tell her?" Sai asked sheepishly, as if he was the only one who didn't know the answer.
"Maybe she'll figure it out for herself when we get there," Rowen added.
"I think we should, we have all been close this far," Sage stated lightly.
"Oh, you just want Mia mad at him so you can have her all to yourself!" Kento blurted out directly at Sage.
"How dare you suggest such a thing, you oaf!" Sage shot back. "I would never be as so low as to ruin a friendship for my own gain!" he finished.
"Well, there must be some truth to it. You're talking all philosophical." Rowen smirked.
Sage stuttered at his friends, trying to find words to defend himself. He could feel himself getting angrier and the others waiting for it.
Sai, being the level-head and avoider of battles, stepped in. "It really doesn't matter one way or the other. If Mia ever really did have feelings for Ryo, there isn't anything she can do now. Ryo obviously has found someone near and dear to him. Mia doesn't have to know."
The others nodded at Sai's words and entered the jeep, but as soon as all were buckled in, Sage got the first words out. "What if it isn't what we think? What if Ryo breaks this off like in a week?"
Rowen looked at him ready to answer the question. "Ryo isn't like that. I doubt it was even his idea. He is a shy, bashful, and quiet guy. I think he would only go along with something like that if he really had a large place in his heart for this girl."
"Ry-o is in l-ove!" Kento shouted from the back seat. "Who would have thought Ryo had moves!" he finished. The others grunted and moaned, just imagining the disgusting things Kento would be talking about for the trip to Mia's. The jeep started down the road and, despite Kento's earlier outburst suggestion that he would have to be gagged, all was silent. Most of them knew what the other was thinking. They all had interests in the opposite sex, but never would think of getting as deep as Ryo. Especially at such a young age.
"Did you ever think that any of us really could..." Sai drifted off. None of them really turned to face him, but it was obvious they wanted to speak their minds.
"Why are we so embarrassed by this subject? We're all guys here, all good friends. We should speak freely!" Sage said in a preaching voice. Despite the truth behind his words, the others kept silent.
"I don't think it's us we're all really thinking about. It think that it's just so surprising that the first one was actually Ryo," Rowen finally stated. The others nodded in agreement as the car continued down the mountainside.
"So..." Kento started, "what kind of girl would make you guys take it... 'all the way'... with?" he stated with his arms folded. They looked at him oddly. He looked back at them simply, showing that he was not going to retract his question. Sure enough, each of them were thinking of the type of girls they would give their hearts to, spend their lives with, or, as past experience would state, even die for.
"She'd have to be a cheery person for me," Rowen found himself beginning. All eyes turned to him and seemingly were interested, so he continued. "I like someone that's not always so serious, can make me smile, you know?" he said as he returned his eyes to the road ahead of him.
"You wouldn't want someone that's in the same mental standings?" Sai asked in a tone that would seem he was serious about his almost jocular question.
"Well, yeah, but after a while things would get competitive probably, and I wouldn't want that. It would be nice if she could understand what I was saying."
"I would like a girl that wouldn't be afraid to try things," Sage began as Rowen's description died out. "Not just run away from new things that take hours of badgering to get her to try something." He flipped his hair in the mirror once more before putting up the visor.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Sage?" Kento queried, seemingly ready to deliver a punchline.
"And what's that, Kento?" Sage said, knowing that Kento had something droll up his sleeve.
"You know, the tight dress, the long flowing hair, the huge..."
Kento was interrupted by Sai. "That's enough with your little description, Kento!" The group chuckled lightly. They all knew Sai would react that way. Sai had too much etiquette in him to listen to talk that way about women.
Kento took this opportunity to put his friend on the spot. "Well, if you don't like my description, how 'bout you give us one of your own?" he said with a smug look. Sai choked on air as his face blushed.
"Well... I suppose, I would like a girl of my own British decent," Sai began, drifting off in his view out the window. "Someone nice, quiet, considerate... passionate..." Sai's daydream was interrupted by everyone's eyes piercing into him as if to make sure it was him who was speaking.
"Passionate?" Sage asked with his one visible eyebrow raised.
Sai could feel his stomach turn in embarrassment. "Well... I... if I am to give my love to one single girl, I would hope she would return it to me!" he shouted, defending himself. Rowen and Sage seemed to laugh a little, but nonetheless agreed to what Sai was saying.
Kento was poking Sai in the ribs with his elbow and winking at him. "I know what you mean, buddy!" he said with a catlike meow. Sai blushed heavier and pushed away Kento's elbow so hard that it caused Kento's hand to drive into his jaw. "Ouch! Hey, what was that for?!" he complained with his hand to his jaw, pushing it back and forth.
The car was quiet for a little while, and Kento was getting a little irritated. "Isn't anyone going to ask me what my girl would be like?" he finally exclaimed.
"Oh, we know pretty well, Kento. You'll settle for the typical bimbo in a short skirt and tube top," Rowen smirked as he didn't remove his focus on the road.
The others chuckled, but Kento was seemingly upset in more than the usual when his friends insult him. "I'm really hurt, guys. You really think that little of me? For your information, an hourglass figure is not the most important thing to me!" he said with agitation.
Sai, knowing Kento better than any of them, knew he was hurt by their thoughts of him being shallow. "So then, what is your dream girl?"
Kento smiled widely at his question. "Well, naturally she would be beautiful, but they are a dime a dozen. I want a girl with some spunk! Has a little attitude, give me a fight, watch a football game with me. Not all that soapy wishy-washy 'If you knew me you would know what I want' type stuff. I want a woman, a real woman. My woman!" Kento finished off with so much pride in himself that he didn't seem to notice that the car was quiet. His friends were impressed by how Kento knew exactly what he wanted from the opposite sex, but of course they couldn't let him know that.
"So, basically you just want a copy of you in a skirt," Sage said, trying to sound unamused.
"Yes... wait, no! Hey!" Kento exclaimed, scrambling to cover up. They all laughed eventually and returned to their silence that they would normally have.
"How long could they possibly be?" Rowen complained as he leaned on the wheel of the red jeep he had borrowed from Mia.
Sage smiled as he styled his hair in the pulled-down mirror behind the visor. "They'll be out in a little bit, Rowen. Give them some time. It has been almost a year since they've seen each other. Kento is probably begging him for some of his homemade chocolate chip cookies."
Rowen rolled his eyes at the mental picture of Kento down on his knees, hands folded, forcing tears out of his eyes just for a few cookies. "See? Here they come now," Sage said, interrupting the image. Behind them was Kento's Uncle Chin, waving good-bye with what looked like a packet of papers in his hand. Sai obviously had given him a few recipes.
Kento and Sai mounted the backseat of the jeep. Kento had a wide smile on his face. "Hey, guys, good to see you again!" he cheered.
"You would have seen them a lot sooner if you hadn't been bugging me for recipes all that time!" Sai stated irritably.
Sage gave a look to Rowen that seemed to say "I told you so". Rowen chuckled a little as he started the engine. "Same old Kento. How we've missed your bottomless pit of a stomach," Sage added.
"Really?" Kento asked in a small, hopeful, almost childish voice.
"No, not really," Rowen said, trying to hold in his laughs. Sai bit his knuckle, also trying to keep from laughing as he saw Kento's face drop in disappointment.
"Well, that's four down and one to go!" Sage proclaimed proudly as they started up the street.
"Man, I can't wait to see Ryo. He's probably going off the walls up in that cabin!" Kento said, nudging Sai with his elbow.
Sai pushed it away and continued to look out the window. "Ryo can handle being by himself. I'm sure he's fine," Sai replied in his quiet British accent. Nothing more was said for a while as they began to go up the steep winding mountain path to Ryo's place.
In the midst of the silence, Kento blurted out, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees us! He probably isn't even out of bed yet!" The others in the jeep gave him a confused look. Rowen peered at him in the rear view mirror and Sage turned his head slightly. Kento fell into a bashful quiet as he saw the eyes piercing into him.
"Why would he be surprised, Kento?" Sage finally broke the silence. "You did call him and tell him we were coming, didn't you?"
Kento looked for a physical exit from this interrogation, quivering his eyes frantically. "Well, why didn't any of you call him instead?!" he argued, trying to remove the blame from his shoulders.
The three of them grunted, sighed, or moaned as they slumped in their seats. "Kento! You were supposed to call him up! I called Sage, Sage called Sai, Sai called you, and you were supposed to call Ryo!" Rowen explained tiredly.
"All right, already! I'm sorry! Jeez, no big deal!" he shouted.
"It is a big deal, Kento! You know Ryo was the most upset about all of us leaving! He most of all deserves to know we're all getting back together today!" Sai protested.
"Would you guys lay off me already! It's not like Ryo has anything else to do up in that big mountain of his! Besides, more the surprise when he opens the doors and finds us there!" Kento said, trying to grace his position. The others groaned a little, knowing he was escaping their disappointment in him. Even so, they could not help but smile imagining the look on Ryo's face when they'd arrive. Kento smiled in triumph.
The red jeep pulled up to the driveway of the log cabin atop the mountain and by the beautiful lake. They piled out of the car and admired the view as they had done before when visiting Ryo. "Now I know how Ryo passes the time up here," Sage said, admiring the view.
"Well, shall we wake up Sleeping Beauty?" Kento said, clasping his hands together, rubbing as if preparing for some large handiwork. They all smiled lightly and came up to the door. Sai knocked lightly first and stood back. The four boys still smiled in anticipation to see Ryo's face but there was no answer.
Sai knocked again and, after more waiting, there was still no response. "Oh, he has to be home! Kento, this is all your fault!" Sai said atypically.
"What?! My fault?! He's home! You're just not knocking loud enough!" Kento growled.
Rowen just butted in with, "Why don't we just call his name so he knows it's us?"
Kento's face scrunched. "And ruin the surprise? No way!" he said as he went up to the door and delivered four heavy blows to it.
"All right, all right, I'm coming!" was heard from the inside. They beamed in relief and satisfaction as Ryo could be heard unlocking the door. The door slowly opened.
Obviously they had gotten Ryo out of bed. All he was wearing was a pair of blue pajama pants and his robe thrown on, untied. His hair was tousled more than the usual for him and, when he looked up at his friends, his face was in complete shock.
"Surprise!" the four said in unison. Ryo's surprise didn't leave his face.
"Hey, buddy, aren't you glad to see us?!" Kento said with a big grin.
"We didn't mean to wake you up. Kento was supposed to call you," Sai interjected.
Ryo snapped out of his surprised daze and tried to address his friends. "Oh, I, uh... it's no big deal," Ryo said, leaning little out the door with one hand on the frame and the other holding open the door. There was a long moment of silence, and smiles were disappearing.
"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Rowen said pleadingly.
Ryo snapped again as if in deep thought. "Oh! I would but, uh... the place is a mess," Ryo offered.
"We had to pick up Kento, it couldn't be any worse than that!" Sai smiled.
Ryo seemingly was struggling for another excuse when a female voice came from around the corner. "Ryo, who was at the... door." A young girl no older than Ryo walked from behind the corner to see four boys trying to force their way in. She had beautiful long blonde hair down past her waist and was tying it back with a red bow as she walked in. She was wearing one of Ryo's long red sweaters that came down to just above her knees, but wasn't wearing much else.
Ryo was rubbing the front of his forehead around his eyebrows with his thumb and pointer finger and was blushing madly as his four friends stared slack-jawed at the gorgeous, underdressed young girl standing at the corner of the room. She knew this was not the right time to come out. Ryo looked back and seemingly ushered her forward to the door. Ryo was a good four or five inches taller as she came closer. He put his arm around her and blushed a little more as he tried to address this awkward situation.
"Uh, guys, this is my friend Mina. Mina, this is Sage, Sai, Kento, and Rowen," Ryo managed to stutter out.
She sheepishly waved to the four staring on at this scene, finally able to close their hanging jaws. "I think I just found out another way Ryo passes the time up here..." Sage whispered lightly.
"We should, uh... come back later..." Rowen finally managed to throw out, yet no one said anything more after that.
In a sudden outburst Kento screamed, "Ryo, you are the man!" He was met with multiple smacks in the back of the head as the others scolded his name. Mina giggled lightly and Ryo chuckled, but they still continued to blush heavily. Sinking deeper in their mistake of not calling Ryo, they let out distracting and throat-clearing coughs, trying to look away from the two at the door.
Sage finally broke in. "We're, um, all going to be at Mia's today and we'd like you to join us. Oh, and of course, Mina is invited too."
Mina smiled again as if thanking Sage as she turned her sparkling baby blue eyes towards Ryo. He was rubbing the back of his head with his other hand, eyes averted to the ground. "Yeah, I'll call you guys when I'm ready. We'll ride White Blaze there, he wants the exercise," Ryo said, looking nervously over his shoulder at his faithful tiger companion who almost seemed to smile at his name. They nodded to Ryo's plan, but it really wouldn't matter what he would have said, for all six of them just wanted to get away from this situation as fast as possible.
Ryo led Mina back into the cabin and shut the door quietly behind him. He still had one hand on the handle and the other seemingly held against the door as if keeping back strong winds. He pounded the back of his head against the door and shut his eyes tightly. "Oh, the guys are going to kill me for this!" he said, almost whining. Mina hugged him around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He could feel she was laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing, I just thought you wouldn't hesitate to brag to all your friends about how you 'scored' with me."
Ryo shook his head a little. "Now, I have much more respect for you than that," he said as he kissed the top of her head.
She looked up at him and seemingly had a disappointed face, but Ryo knew she was pretending. "You mean you weren't going to tell anyone about me?" she said in a sad, played voice.
Ryo just looked down and said, "You're so cute when you pout."
They both chuckled a little. Then Mina turned her head back to the side and Ryo again looked at the ceiling. "Mia is going to give me the lecture of my life once I get there," he said with a sigh.
"Oh, let her complain. She had her chance. You're mine now, and you'll do what I tell you!" A laugh escaped Ryo's mouth but the rest were muffled behind his lips. Mina also was keeping her giggles muffled inside.
Outside the doors to the jeep were open, but no one was getting in. They were all just staring at each other, trying to piece together the situation. Many words were exchanged but no actual conversation.
"Wow. Ryo. Who would have thought?"
"Maybe we saw it wrong?"
"No way! That was clear as the sun!"
"Who is that girl?"
"Why Ryo?"
"She sure was pretty."
"I'm hungry."
"Are we missing something?"
"Is she an old girlfriend?"
"That must have been embarrassing."
"Mia is going to kill him!"
"Mia!" they all said at once. The situation had taken an odd turn.
"Should we tell her?" Sai asked sheepishly, as if he was the only one who didn't know the answer.
"Maybe she'll figure it out for herself when we get there," Rowen added.
"I think we should, we have all been close this far," Sage stated lightly.
"Oh, you just want Mia mad at him so you can have her all to yourself!" Kento blurted out directly at Sage.
"How dare you suggest such a thing, you oaf!" Sage shot back. "I would never be as so low as to ruin a friendship for my own gain!" he finished.
"Well, there must be some truth to it. You're talking all philosophical." Rowen smirked.
Sage stuttered at his friends, trying to find words to defend himself. He could feel himself getting angrier and the others waiting for it.
Sai, being the level-head and avoider of battles, stepped in. "It really doesn't matter one way or the other. If Mia ever really did have feelings for Ryo, there isn't anything she can do now. Ryo obviously has found someone near and dear to him. Mia doesn't have to know."
The others nodded at Sai's words and entered the jeep, but as soon as all were buckled in, Sage got the first words out. "What if it isn't what we think? What if Ryo breaks this off like in a week?"
Rowen looked at him ready to answer the question. "Ryo isn't like that. I doubt it was even his idea. He is a shy, bashful, and quiet guy. I think he would only go along with something like that if he really had a large place in his heart for this girl."
"Ry-o is in l-ove!" Kento shouted from the back seat. "Who would have thought Ryo had moves!" he finished. The others grunted and moaned, just imagining the disgusting things Kento would be talking about for the trip to Mia's. The jeep started down the road and, despite Kento's earlier outburst suggestion that he would have to be gagged, all was silent. Most of them knew what the other was thinking. They all had interests in the opposite sex, but never would think of getting as deep as Ryo. Especially at such a young age.
"Did you ever think that any of us really could..." Sai drifted off. None of them really turned to face him, but it was obvious they wanted to speak their minds.
"Why are we so embarrassed by this subject? We're all guys here, all good friends. We should speak freely!" Sage said in a preaching voice. Despite the truth behind his words, the others kept silent.
"I don't think it's us we're all really thinking about. It think that it's just so surprising that the first one was actually Ryo," Rowen finally stated. The others nodded in agreement as the car continued down the mountainside.
"So..." Kento started, "what kind of girl would make you guys take it... 'all the way'... with?" he stated with his arms folded. They looked at him oddly. He looked back at them simply, showing that he was not going to retract his question. Sure enough, each of them were thinking of the type of girls they would give their hearts to, spend their lives with, or, as past experience would state, even die for.
"She'd have to be a cheery person for me," Rowen found himself beginning. All eyes turned to him and seemingly were interested, so he continued. "I like someone that's not always so serious, can make me smile, you know?" he said as he returned his eyes to the road ahead of him.
"You wouldn't want someone that's in the same mental standings?" Sai asked in a tone that would seem he was serious about his almost jocular question.
"Well, yeah, but after a while things would get competitive probably, and I wouldn't want that. It would be nice if she could understand what I was saying."
"I would like a girl that wouldn't be afraid to try things," Sage began as Rowen's description died out. "Not just run away from new things that take hours of badgering to get her to try something." He flipped his hair in the mirror once more before putting up the visor.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Sage?" Kento queried, seemingly ready to deliver a punchline.
"And what's that, Kento?" Sage said, knowing that Kento had something droll up his sleeve.
"You know, the tight dress, the long flowing hair, the huge..."
Kento was interrupted by Sai. "That's enough with your little description, Kento!" The group chuckled lightly. They all knew Sai would react that way. Sai had too much etiquette in him to listen to talk that way about women.
Kento took this opportunity to put his friend on the spot. "Well, if you don't like my description, how 'bout you give us one of your own?" he said with a smug look. Sai choked on air as his face blushed.
"Well... I suppose, I would like a girl of my own British decent," Sai began, drifting off in his view out the window. "Someone nice, quiet, considerate... passionate..." Sai's daydream was interrupted by everyone's eyes piercing into him as if to make sure it was him who was speaking.
"Passionate?" Sage asked with his one visible eyebrow raised.
Sai could feel his stomach turn in embarrassment. "Well... I... if I am to give my love to one single girl, I would hope she would return it to me!" he shouted, defending himself. Rowen and Sage seemed to laugh a little, but nonetheless agreed to what Sai was saying.
Kento was poking Sai in the ribs with his elbow and winking at him. "I know what you mean, buddy!" he said with a catlike meow. Sai blushed heavier and pushed away Kento's elbow so hard that it caused Kento's hand to drive into his jaw. "Ouch! Hey, what was that for?!" he complained with his hand to his jaw, pushing it back and forth.
The car was quiet for a little while, and Kento was getting a little irritated. "Isn't anyone going to ask me what my girl would be like?" he finally exclaimed.
"Oh, we know pretty well, Kento. You'll settle for the typical bimbo in a short skirt and tube top," Rowen smirked as he didn't remove his focus on the road.
The others chuckled, but Kento was seemingly upset in more than the usual when his friends insult him. "I'm really hurt, guys. You really think that little of me? For your information, an hourglass figure is not the most important thing to me!" he said with agitation.
Sai, knowing Kento better than any of them, knew he was hurt by their thoughts of him being shallow. "So then, what is your dream girl?"
Kento smiled widely at his question. "Well, naturally she would be beautiful, but they are a dime a dozen. I want a girl with some spunk! Has a little attitude, give me a fight, watch a football game with me. Not all that soapy wishy-washy 'If you knew me you would know what I want' type stuff. I want a woman, a real woman. My woman!" Kento finished off with so much pride in himself that he didn't seem to notice that the car was quiet. His friends were impressed by how Kento knew exactly what he wanted from the opposite sex, but of course they couldn't let him know that.
"So, basically you just want a copy of you in a skirt," Sage said, trying to sound unamused.
"Yes... wait, no! Hey!" Kento exclaimed, scrambling to cover up. They all laughed eventually and returned to their silence that they would normally have.
